Falcons defense will grapple with 'bad loss' during bye week

Atlanta's defense gave up 38 points to rookie quarterback Bo Nix .

Nov 18, 2024 at 08:00 AM

Terrin Waack

Falcons Digital Team Reporter

DENVER — There's a white cement wall in a small room off the visiting team's locker room inside Empower Field at Mile High. Black signatures of notable players who have passed through the stadium cover it.

Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons' name is now among them. The two-time Pro Bowler spent his career prior to this season with the Denver Broncos after they selected him in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Simmons knew this moment was coming Sunday and entered with a plan to ink his name underneath former teammate Demaryius Thomas, who died in 2021 at 33 years old. Thomas' name was in the upper left corner. Simmons had to stand on a chair to reach his desired spot.

Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons #31 signs the player hall of fame wall before the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, quarterback Kirk Cousins and left tackle Jake Matthews all signed the wall, too. Matthews signed below his father, Bruce Matthews, who played in the NFL from 1983-2001.

It was a sentimental way to start Sunday.

Unfortunately, it went downhill from there for the Falcons, who lost to the Broncos, 38-6.

"It was emotional," Simmons said. "Obviously I played the last eight years here — a lot of good memories – so it was bittersweet. First, I'm thankful for the warm embrace with the fans and that I got to see of my old teammates. But it stinks being on the opposite side and coming away with the loss — a bad loss at that."

The Broncos totaled 400 yards of offense — 105 rushing and 295 passing.

Denver quarterback Bo Nix completed 28 of his 33 passes — good for 84.8% — for 307 yards and four touchdowns. Those were all season-high marks for the rookie. He was sacked once by Atlanta outside linebacker Matthew Judon but otherwise worked with a relatively clean pocket. The Falcons recorded only three quarterback hits.

Nix threw one touchdown pass per quarter. In order, they went a 12-yarder to tight end Nate Adkins, another 12-yarder to wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., a 7-yarder to wide receiver Troy Franklin and a season-long 41-yarder to wide receiver Lil'Jordan Humphrey.

"The progression from Bo, watching the tape leading up to this game from Week 1 to now, Week 11, has gotten tremendously better each and every week," Simmons said. "When you have a really good arm and you trust your arm, it can be hard sometimes in the pocket not to take a deep shot. For the most part, we were taking away a lot of the deep plays that they wanted to run. He was just being consistent, checking in down and letting his skill players what they've done all year. … They were operating at a high light. Defensively, we couldn't break that."

Simmons is right. The Falcons did limit the deep shots for the most part. Issue was, the Broncos had 199 yards after catch. The ball going the distance wasn't the problem.

Screen plays really hurt Atlanta's defense.

"That's Sean Payton," said Falcons inside linebacker Kaden Elliss, who played under Payton with the New Orleans Saints from 2019-21. "You know screens are coming. Jimmy (Lake) is yelling to me in the headset, 'Screens are coming.' We're telling everybody that screens are coming. The thing with Sean Payton is he makes it look different every time. There's not a clear giveaway. He's probably the best play-caller I've ever gone against, and it is what it is."

The 199 yards after catch is easily the most the Falcons have allowed this season. The second most was 165 in last week's loss to the Saints.

Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons #31 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

The Broncos' remaining points came off a 14-yard run by running back Javonte Williams in the second quarter and a 45-yard field goal by kicker Wil Lutz in the fourth quarter.

"I'm disappointed in our lack of execution," Simmons said. "Just felt like there's some things that obviously we did well but then a lot of it was just not good. I feel like the tackling or the effort of tackling just wasn't there."

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris mirrored those thoughts when pinpointing defensive shortcomings.

"Obviously bad tackling, right?" he said. "You miss tackles. They get yards. We got to go out there and tackle better."

That's going to be a massive emphasis this upcoming week.

Thankfully for the Falcons, Week 12 is their bye. This gives them extra time to recover and reevaluate before returning to work on Dec. 1 when the Los Angeles Chargers come to Atlanta. There are still six games remaining in the regular season, and the Falcons are two games up in the NFC South race to the playoffs.

Again, unfortunately, the bye also means the Falcons will have more time to think about Sunday's loss, rather than going into it on a positive note and washing it before an immediate chance at redemption. And for Simmons, that's a difficult pill to swallow given his current mixed emotions. What started out as a great road trip home turned into a not-so-great trip back to his home away from home.

"I am super grateful," Simmons said. "I'm also standing up here with a heavy heart of a really tough loss. It's hard to balance the two."

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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson #7 carries the ball during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons offensive line during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons defensive back Clark Phillips III #22 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Casey Washington #82 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons linebacker Kaden Elliss #55 makes a tackle during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson #7 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London #5 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins #18 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons tackle Jake Matthews #70 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo #6 kicks a field goal during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons tight end Ross Dwelley #85 carries the ball during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on the sideline during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons safety Richie Grant #27 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo #6 makes a field goal during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney #1 catches the ball during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons #31 makes a tackle during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins #18 hands the ball to Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson #7 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III #3 reacts during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney #1 catches a pass during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts #8 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge #12 carries the ball during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts #8 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Shanna Lockwood/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts #8 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons running back Avery Williams #26 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Brandon Magnus/Atlanta Falcons)

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Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. #9 during the Week 11 Game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, November 17, 2024. (Photo by Tyler Schank/Atlanta Falcons)

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Falcons defense will grapple with 'bad loss' during bye week

Atlanta's defense gave up 38 points to rookie quarterback Bo Nix .

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