ATLANTA — Perception vs. Reality.
In the early days of training camp this August, Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins warned against confusing the two when expectations for a team are so high.
With Cousins throwing to players like Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Darnell Mooney; with Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and last year's entire starting offensive line returning; with a new play-caller in Zac Robinson coming from a Los Angeles Rams system that's seen high success, why wouldn't the Falcons be a top-10 offense? That was the perception Cousins was asked about in training camp.
"I'm very aware of the fact that perception right now is that our offense is going to be really, really great. We've got all these great players," Cousins explained. "I just think that's only perception, and it's our job to work to make it reality. So, I don't really care much about perception. I don't care at all. I care about reality and making sure that that's actually what it is this fall, and until we go do it, I don't really feel any assurance from that."
The reality of Sunday's Week 1 loss to the Steelers was a douse of cold water on the perception of this season before the ball had ever been kicked off. Once it was, perception became reality, and the reality wasn't at all what the Falcons hoped for, particularly from an offensive side of the ball that failed to score more than 10 points in the loss.
What's more, they failed to put any points on the board in the second half at all and were held to 51 total yards of offense. Cousins threw two interceptions in the outing, and the veteran quarterback credited a botched snap that hit the legs of a motioning Ross Dwelley to a pre-snap miscue between himself and center Drew Dalman.
Throughout the preseason, Falcons players from both sides of the ball were adamant in making one point consistent. Yes, they feel they have a good roster in 2024, one of the best some players feel they've ever been a part of. However, a good roster means little if the roster in question doesn't win games.
Leaders of this team have said it multiple times: They have to earn the trust of this fanbase. They have to prove that they are as good as preseason rankings and projections say they are.
Proof — at least offensively — didn't materialize Sunday. And the reality of that is the Falcons weren't without their opportunities to prove it, which makes the loss sting more.
The Steelers were held to six field goals. They made it to the red zone twice. They never punched it in. Was the Falcons' defense perfect Sunday? No. Players in the locker room and head coach Raheem Morris said there were some explosive plays to George Pickens they'd like back, some runs they wished they'd stopped. But did this defense create stops and havoc when they really needed to? Yes.
"We had our opportunities," Morris said.
They were opportunities that fizzled out just as quickly as they materialized with the Falcons offense stalling in the second half. Cousins had praise for special teams and the defense, but the offense didn't do enough to compliment that good play to win the game. And there were two specific buckets the Falcons' offensive issues stemmed from: turnovers and ill-timed penalties. The theme of these two buckets falls under the same umbrella, according to Cousins.
The Falcons offense did this to themselves.
"We didn't sustain enough drives and it felt like a lot of that, some of that, was self-inflicted," Cousins said. "... It felt like we had the chances to get going but it was a flag or a turnover or whatever it may have been to wipe out the opportunity."
When breaking down every single second half drive by the Falcons, at least one of those two buckets Cousins' described were present and had a hand in a given drive's lack of production. And when it comes to turnovers: In Cousins' career, if at least two interceptions are present in his final stat line, he's only won four games out of 25 as a starter, according to TruMedia.
Atlanta's first drive of the second half ended with the fumbled snap described a few graphs above. The second, third and fourth drives of the half resulted in a third-down hands to the face call that wiped out a 17-yard advance, an offensive holding penalty that took away a first-down conversion and an illegal formation that backed Atlanta up to its own 5-yard line. Significant pressure on Cousins was consistent throughout those drives, too, with Cousins either sacked or under duress and throwing the ball off-rhythm five times (by my count).
Then, there was the final true drive of the game for Atlanta. A Grady Jarrett/Matthew Judon third-down sack had the Steelers punting. With solid field position on their own 40-yard line, over three minutes to go in the game, down by five and with a first down already established by a Bijan Robinson 13-yard run, things were looking up for the offense. That is, until Cousins' threw his second interception of the day, and the third turnover by this offense. Returned to the Atlanta 18-yard line, the Steelers put the game on ice.
As the clock hit zero, the loss was a sobering reminder that the honeymoon period of the preseason is officially over. The Falcons "didn't play up the standard" they — and maybe even the rest of the league — expected them to.
"Today showed we can be a productive offense, but when we hurt ourselves it's tough to overcome," Cousins said.
"... If we don't stub our toe and we don't hurt ourselves in some of these drives I think we saw what we can be, but it's got to be every play."
Moving forward, despite playing on Monday night in Week 2, the Falcons do not have time to make these same mistakes again. They face the Eagles on the road in Philadelphia, one of the most difficult fanbases to play in front of at any point, but especially in a primetime slot and with the Eagles coming off a 34-29 victory over the Packers in Brazil.
There is no time to idle. There is nowhere to hide. Reality is here and the Falcons' offense knows it needs to rectify the reality that was the Week 1 loss.
