Seattle Seahawks @ Atlanta Falcons
Final Score: Seahawks 37, Falcons 9
Writer: Matthew Bevins (MattBQBList on Reddit)
The Atlanta Falcons are having a season to forget, and it was in Sunday’s game that reminded us how important Drake London is to this team’s existence. Without London, the Falcons played a game in front of their home crowd with a combo meal of Kyle Pitts, David Sills, and Dylan Drummond. The Seahawks have impressed all season long with their defense, and this week was no different. The defense this year is the equalizer, like Rams or Cowboys defenses of old.
Three Up
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba — There really isn’t much left to say other than JSN to the moon! The Sam Darnold-to-JSN connection can feed families, and it seems to keep getting better. Last week, Darnold was absolutely horrific, and Smith-Njigba was noticeably absent. In a game where the Falcons were clearly outmanned, the duo took it to the Falcons and linked up early and often.
- Rashid Shaheed — Shaheed came over from the Saints in a year where they’re cleaning shop entirely, and it seems as if there may finally be something brewing here, in his fifth game in Seattle. His largest amount of targets and his largest amount of receptions, and it’s entirely possible the team realizes it can’t live with one weapon only. On a day when he was seeing some reasonable targets, Shaheed also took a 100-yard kick return to the house on a dazzling cutback with immense vision.
- Sam Darnold — Darnold has become one of the more consistent quarterbacks this year, and it seems that there may be a future here for him, as he’s found a way to return from a difficult start to his NFL career. Darnold consistently shows up, competes, and doesn’t seem overpowered in any matchups, and has now returned after slumping for a two-game stretch to put together one of his better showings.
Three Down
- Kirk Cousins — It’s time for Cousins to take a decade-plus of competitive quarterbacking and retire. Cousins replaced Michael Penix Jr. after a horrible injury just weeks ago, and it seems as if Cousins is in a constant state of disarray. Solid plays are seemingly bookended with passes where he wasn’t finishing his normal follow-through, or passes that weren’t zippy enough, and are tip-drilled into multiple interceptions.
- Bijan Robinson— Robinson deserves better, and this is much less of an indictment on him and more on the state of affairs with this Falcons team. Just three wins on the season, losing their potential quarterback of the future, and no chance of the playoffs in sight, the Falcons were playing a constant game of catchup where they needed to go to the air, and they had no reliable wide receivers in tow. Robinson was able to pick up some opportunities in the receiving game, but his No. 1 weapon status led to heightened coverage and an inability to break one off.
- Kenneth Walker III — Is there anyone more frustrating for fantasy football than Walker? The Seahawks spent an entire game flexing on this undermanned Falcons team, and Walker did nothing other than return a roughly 2 yards per carry rushing average. For many, this is the beginning of the playoff season next week or the one after, and Walker may be one of the least reliable players going right now, as he consistently gets outplayed by Zach Charbonnet.
Seattle Seahawks
Quarterback
Sam Darnold: 20/30, 249 Yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT | 3 Carries, 23 Yards
Drew Lock: 1 carry, 0 Yards
Sam Darnold has done an awesome job turning around the Seattle Seahawks this season, and it seems as if the Seahawks have found their No. 1 quarterback. Darnold found Jaxon Smith-Njigba consistently in this game and was also able to begin a rapport with Rashid Shaheed. Darnold made a consistent point to look through his reads and was able to benefit from slipping coverages for two specific touchdown passes. Rushed out of the pocket, Darnold was able to find JSN for a short touchdown pass in the end zone. On another play later in the game, Darnold was able to slip away and find Cooper Kupp on a short touchdown pass on one of his few targets.
Running Back
Kenneth Walker III: 10 Carries, 29 Yards | 3 Targets, 1 Rec, -1 Yard
Zach Charbonnet: 7 Carries, 46 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards
Velus Jones Jr.: 4 Carries, 32 Yards
Inconsistency, thy name is Kenneth Walker III. Walker has spent the years since Zach Charbonnet got drafted being questioned over his draft value, and it seems as if this problem will continue until one or the other is no longer in Seattle. Walker outsnapped Charbonnet to the tune of 32-25, and ran one more route than Charbonnet, and he almost got outgained 2-1 by Charbonnet. Charbonnet is by far a more explosive and consistent back currently, and he showed it again Sunday, even busting out one large burst run that Walker would’ve likely been caught behind the line on. Walker is much more of a plodder and, unfortunately, has not been able to make much out of his opportunities. Walker has only had one game this season over 100 yards, and this is now his fourth game this season under 40 yards.
In a season where so many running backs have either been hurt or underperformed, Walker continues to end up in the top-20 weekly rankings, and he’s now had just a single touchdown over his last two months of games played. Charbonnet showed the true upside out of this backfield, and he’ll now look to continue to perform and succeed with under 50 percent usage. This difficult situation continues to make itself more difficult, and is little more than a dart throw with some stats attached.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 91 Yards, 2 TDs
Rashid Shaheed: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 67 Yards, 1 Kick Return TD
Cooper Kupp: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 25 Yards, 1 TD
A.J. Barner: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 27 Yards
Cody White: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Edwin Arroyo: 1 Target
If your name isn’t Rashid Shaheed or Jaxon Smith-Njigba, this has been a difficult receiving core to get anything out of, but Sunday, Cooper Kupp got himself a little December gift in the form of a receiving touchdown going across the middle of a route. Darnold wasn’t able to get a large amount of pocket time, but was still able to pass for three touchdowns in the game. Whereas Kupp got one, Shaheed not only took a huge kickoff return for a touchdown, but was also able to find himself wide open for a couple of passes as well, finishing off the game just short of 70 receiving yards.
JSN is the real story here, however, and it seems as if his ascension into No. 1 receiver on the year is all but cemented, as he continues to set weekly highs for receiving targets, and his two touchdown passes weren’t even of very advanced difficulty, as he was able to make both receiving touchdowns with absolutely zero contact at the point of reception. JSN will continue to be a top-three option at receiver, with Shaheed sneaking his way back into flex conversation.
Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
Kirk Cousins: 15/30, 162 Yards, 2 INT
The Kirk Cousins era is over, and it seems as if we may soon be yelling “You like that?” to the teams that may need a backup next season, as it seems the Falcons can’t put their fandom through much more of this without major changes. Cousins looked absolutely gobsmacked and was unable to get through a lot of his progressions before he either took a huge hit or had a tip-drill for one of his interceptions. Cousins’ passes weren’t terribly thrown passes into the arms of defenders. However, the passes were rushed, as he was consistently sought out by the extremely talented Seahawks defense, which ranks No. 1 in many defensive metrics. Nick Emmanwori was a huge villain on Cousins’ game Sunday, as he was able to garner a sack, a pick, and a field goal block on his quest to single-handedly keep the Falcons from scoring.
Running Back
Bijan Robinson: 20 Carries, 86 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 8 Yards
Tyler Allgeier: 11 Carries, 34 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 33 Yards
Poor, poor Bijan Robinson. In a season where he was seen as the heir apparent to the No. 1 running back claim, but the Falcons’ offense around him had other plans. Boxes were consistently stacked this game against this stellar running back duo. Tyler Allgeier is easily the most underrated rusher in the game, even when his 34 yards Sunday may not show it. Allgeier is a dynamic rusher who is also able to slide out on receiving routes, and added an additional 33 yards receiving.
Robinson will continue to play the role of a top-five running back, but will unfortunately be in line for more game-planning centered around stopping his consistent rushing, and he may be as reliable as any other rusher in the league.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Kyle Pitts: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 90 Yards
Dylan Drummond: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 21 Yards
David Sills: 4 Targets
Deven Thompkins: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Darnell Mooney: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
The Falcons’ receiving room was an absolute tragedy, as no one was able to snag more than three receptions other than Kyle Pitts, who may have found a new quirk for the Falcons as an outright receiver, able to come loose on a couple of large receptions, and also lay out for a large pass where almost no one on the field could’ve grabbed. It was a sign that Pitts may somehow have a ceiling that remains unreached, and it certainly wouldn’t be challenged by players like Deven Thompkins and Dylan Drummond, names that are closer to a practice squad than a normal receiving day for the Falcons. David Sills is more than likely the usual No. 3 wideout when Drake London is back, but there isn’t really much to gather out of this offense if the player isn’t Robinson, or Pitts currently.