Falcons Receive Passing Grade Despite 2024 'Disappointment'
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The Atlanta Falcons failed to secure a winning record or a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season in 2024. The Falcons extended those streaks despite high preseason expectations.
On Jan. 30, Bleacher Report's Maurice Moton awarded every NFL team a grade for the 2024 campaign. Failing to live up to their expectations, Moton gave the Falcons a "C."
"The Atlanta Falcons opened the season with a lot of hope that turned into disappointment partially because of a slow decision to bench their high-paid quarterback and the inability to address their defensive holes in the offseason," wrote Moton.
"In retrospect, the Falcons made the right move by taking Michael Penix Jr. in the first round of the 2024 draft. However, they stuck with Cousins a little too long, and their 23rd-ranked defense wasn't stout enough to help an offense that sputtered for extended stretches."
It's probably important to note that Moton was awarding "realistic grades" in his Jan. 30 column.
Although there was plenty of hype around the Falcons last summer, there were enough doubters that the team missing the postseason wasn't a huge shock. As it turned out, the team's top offseason moves last year were flashy but offered little improvement.
The Kirk Cousins deal proved to be that. So did the acquisitions for defenders Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons.
So, based on realistic expectations, it's probably fair to give the Falcons a "C" for their 2024 campaign. They competed for a playoff spot until the season finale, and the team's anemic pass rush showed signs of life late in the year.
Still, context is everything. The Falcons were 6-3 and had already swept the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With that in mind, they had no business missing the playoffs.
It's also one thing to waste $90 million on Cousins. But to fail once again to find long-term solutions on defense is a blunder on a whole other level -- one that maybe could have been avoided had the Falcons not signed Cousins and drafted Penix.
Yes, drafting Penix proved to be the right move. But they didn't have to add both signal callers.
Failing to fix the defense could hurt the Falcons' chances of becoming a real Super Bowl contender while Michael Penix Jr. is on his rookie deal.
From a national perspective, a "C" grade seems appropriate for an 8-9 team. But the 2024 Falcons had the potential for a lot more, especially after a 6-3 start.
Plus, anyone who lived every down of that mid-season four-game losing is unlikely to give Atlanta an overall passing grade.