What a sensational performance from the Atlanta Falcons, who are arguably the most entertaining commodity in the league right now. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, and my wife is tired of hearing about ‘those Falcons’.

We begin to map the area we last explored many moons ago. Kirktober, Hodgefest and Rookiemania stole the show last night! Here are this week’s three ups and three downs.

Three up

Kirk cousins

The Falcons quarterback continued to trend in the right direction, but last night was Kirktober’s debut, and it did not disappoint.

Cousins ​​set a new franchise record for passing yards with 509, on Matt Ryan night no less. He did this by involving everyone. Kyle Pitts hauled in 7/8 targets for 88 yards, Drake London went OUT with 154 yards and a touchdown, and Darnell Mooney passed for 100 yards and had two touchdowns of his own. Plus, Ray-Ray McCloud and KhaDarel Hodge combined to reach over 450 feet!

It was a great day for the entire passing offense. While everyone deserves credit, especially Zac Robinson, Cousins ​​showed and proved to everyone that the noise around him during the first quarter of the season was just that: noise.

KhaDarel Hodge

Hodge is what football is all about, the glue guys. Every winning team needs them, and they don’t have to be stars; in fact, they rarely are. These are the guys who come in and play like every replay is their last; they can’t afford to take one off. Hodge is that guy for this team.

After fending off preseason favorite Casey Washington, Hodge had a quiet first three games in which his only action came on special teams. However, in the last two games the ace has stepped up and been the spark the team needed. Drake London was fouled twice and Hodge came up big in both scenarios, but the catch in overtime is something both he and Falcons fans will remember for a long time. It was beautiful to see the emotion Hodge showed postgame and listen to him tell his story to anyone who didn’t know. It couldn’t have happened to a better man.

Ruke Orhorhoro

The debut of the Falcons’ 2024 second-round pick did not disappoint. Orhorhoro only managed 12 snaps, but he made them all count, racking up three tackles, one of which was a no-gain on the goal line next to legend Grady Jarrett. Pass rush ability is still a work in progress, but it’s clear the rookie can be a legitimate difference maker in the run game.

The defensive lineman was overflowing with energy, and that could be the spark this veteran inner group needs. From now on, I expect Orhorhoro’s workload to increase. He certainly deserved that after his first performance.

JD Bertrand also gave a brave performance and delivered some serious pop. Could Brandon Dorlus be next to hear his name called?

Three down

Carrying out a violation

It was tough sledding on the ground because of the offense. Last night it didn’t matter if it was Bijan Robinson or Tyler Allgeier. Neither of them could get much going. Bijan’s vision isn’t as sharp as it could be, and the running back doesn’t trust himself. Part of that is due to the teams’ repeated desire to control the outside zone at all costs.

It just doesn’t work, and teams have been able to stop it because Atlanta hasn’t adapted. The offensive line is blown up at the point of attack and cannot reach the second level. Taking a step back, I understand that I don’t want to run a bunch of inside zones at Vita Vea, but something has to change.

There are only 25 days left in Kirktober, and while it would be cool to see him rack up 2,500 passing yards in a month, it would be unwise to count on that happening.

Run defense

On the other side of the ball the story is similar. The run defense had no chance, with Troy Andersen and Nate Landman both out. Kaden Elliss is not a full-time inside linebacker. We saw promising plays from JD Bertrand, but we also saw rookie moments, as would be expected.

Things have been most disappointing on the defensive line. It felt like if you could count on anything this year it would be the strength and reliability of the group during the run, but that’s not what we saw. The addition of Orhorhoro was a nice boost, but the Falcons will still have to adjust some snap counts for others.

Fortunately, the team has a mini-bye and Landman has the option to be activated from injured reserve, and Troy Andersen will likely be available as well. The duo will provide a huge boost to the run defense, and we will finally see them play together again.

Situational awareness

Not hitting that field goal before halftime was a huge headache, and I can’t rationalize the fear of a miss in that scenario. Koo had a miss earlier in the match, so what? It’s not shocking to see kickers miss a reset due to a penalty, and yes, he missed the play where the penalty occurred; he then also scored a field goal from more than 50 yards before running on fourth down. Not trusting him in that scenario was downright strange, and while it worked, the Falcons had to get a few breaks before that decision wouldn’t come back to haunt them.

Later, on Kirk Cousins’ interception drive, with less than two minutes left in the game, the Falcons open with a point. It’s another decision that makes no sense at all. There have been other times this season where the situational play and decision-making haven’t been up to par. These staff can learn from their mistakes; so far they have counter-punched when necessary.

Your Atlanta Falcons are 2-0 in the division and 3-0 in the conference. Forget victory Friday; have a winning weekend.