Falcons snap counts from a hideous loss to the Broncos

Look, we knew the Atlanta Falcons were going to have a tough time against a surging Denver Broncos team, primarily because all three of their NFC South rivals were stomped by Sean Payton and Bo Nix. Injury essentially turned a rough matchup into a complete nightmare for Atlanta.

That's not to sugarcoat the outcome or make excuses for it, because I know we're loathe to do that for something that's such a feature of an NFL season. Still, there's no point in pretending that injury didn't make a bad situation worse, and it certainly shows up in the snap counts.

Let's go to those now.

Kaleb McGary: 59

Matthew Bergeron: 59

Ryan Neuzil: 59

Ray-Ray McCloud: 58

Jake Matthews: 46

Chris Lindstrom: 46

Kirk Cousins: 46

Drake London: 45

Kyle Pitts: 44

Bijan Robinson: 42

Darnell Mooney: 34

KhaDarel Hodge: 26

Ross Dwelley: 26

Jase McClellan: 13

Storm Norton: 13

Kyle Hinton: 13

Michael Penix: 13

Tyler Allgeier: 4

Casey Washington: 2

Elijah Wilkinson: 1

This was such a catastrophe on so many levels. The lack of Charlie Woerner definitely impacted the run game, but the Falcons were essentially forced to abandon it later on with the lopsided, with Tyler Allgeier not even getting a carry. It seems the Falcons were discouraged by their early success and the score, but the Falcons won't win many games where they're this unbalanced, and Pitts and Ross Dwelley simply don't deliver the way Woerner does. The Falcons need him back.

This was a week where the return of Dalman would have been a huge boon, given that he's a more effective option than a very game Neuzil, but the Falcons saw Neuzil play one of his shakiest games of the season against a very good defensive line, complete with a couple of errant snaps.

One of the big stories of this season has been the emergence of McCloud as a player the Falcons trust implicitly, especially over the middle of the field, and he out-snapped all other receivers in this one. His ability to pry himself open in critical second and third down situations, as well as KhaDarel Hodge's proven ability to fight for yards after the catch on short passes, are possible salves for this team's inability to get the ball out of Kirk Cousins' hands quickly. At the very least, McCloud already hitting his career highs in receiving is a testament to the work he's put in for this Falcons offense.

With the offense utterly collapsing, we did see Penix, McClellan, Washington, and some of the offensive line reserves late, with Penix looking pretty good in limited action. The Falcons clearly have no plans to insert any of these guys into the lineup except in blowouts or in case of injury.

Kaden Elliss: 62

Clark Phillips: 62

Justin Simmons: 62

A.J. Terrell: 61

Nate Landman: 60

Jessie Bates: 60

Arnold Ebiketie: 42

Grady Jarrett: 40

Matthew Judon: 34

David Onyemata: 32

Richie Grant: 27

Lorenzo Carter: 25

Khalid Kareem: 23

Natrone Brooks: 23

Kentavius Street: 22

Eddie Goldman: 17

Zach Harrison: 12

Brandon Dorlus: 9

Kevin King: 6

DeAngelo Malone: 2

Rashaan Evans: 1

I'd like to point out a couple of sobering things: Khalid Kareem and Natrone Brooks were responsible for half of Atlanta's eight pressures, with Kareem grabbing three of them. Kareem almost was credited with as many pressures by Pro Football Focus in one game as James Smith-Williams and Lorenzo Carter (4 each) have all season.

The withering criticism heading Jimmy Lake's way over this concede-everything-underneath scheme is justified in the extreme, but Lake is not solely responsible for the product on the field. The fact that players like Zach Harrison (who was great before he got hurt), Kareem, and frequent practice squad elevations Demone Harris and Natrone Brooks are playing better ball in this scheme than established starters argues for change. Because I don't expect Lake to blow things up, the Falcons owe it to themselves to get players contributing to the effort on the field more frequently, That may mean giving more time to players who have been fringe contributors up until this point; if it coaxes even mild improvement out of the defense it will be worth it.

Beyond all that, we saw what injuries do to a defense. Landman continues to only look like the 2023 version we all loved in fits and starts, and Troy Andersen's absence is keenly felt. Clark Phillips scuffled (disappointing for my agenda) with Mike Hughes out, and Richie Grant made us pine for Dee Alford despite a handful of nice plays near the line of scrimmage. The loss of Harrison, who was playing well, made it tougher up front for a defense missing Ta'Quon Graham and James Smith-Williams. Carter looked extremely rusty in his return, too, a knock-on effect of coming back from a significant injury. The defense would have struggled with Denver's gameplan regardless; with injuries piling up, they had no chance.

We did see a little Brandon Dorlus action at last, though, and he looked solid. I'm hoping he won't be immediately mothballed after this.

Special teams DeAngelo Malone: 24

Avery Williams: 24

Dane Cruikshank: 23

Richie Grant: 21

Khalid Kareem: 18

Tyler Allgeier: 18

Natrone Brooks: 17

KhaDarel Hodge: 14

Ross Dwelley: 14

Lorenzo Carter: 11

Casey Washington: 11

Bradley Pinion: 10

Nate Landman: 9

Ray-Ray McCloud: 7

Jase McClellan: 7

Liam McCullough: 7

Kaden Elliss: 6

David Onyemata: 6

Eddie Goldman: 6

Zach Harrison: 6

Brandon Dorlus: 6

Clark Phillips: 2

Matthew Bergeron: 2

Ryan Neuzil: 2

Kaleb McGary: 2

Jake Matthews: 2

Storm Norton: 2

Kyle Hinton: 2

Elijah Wilkinson: 2

Younghoe Koo: 2

Justin Simmons: 1

Jessie Bates: 1

Kevin King: 1

Marvin Mims killed the Falcons all day, and special teams was no exception. He managed to average a healthy ten yards on two returns and took another one 37 yards, setting the Broncos up with terrific field position. Add in a foolish DeAngelo Malone penalty where he pulled someone off the pile and got nailed for it and you had a shaky day for the coverage teams...again.

Younghoe Koo hit both of his field goals and Bradley Pinion averaged 50 yards a punt, so it wasn't all bad. The Falcons will be eager to get back consistent contributors like JD Bertrand and Kevin King after the bye, nonetheless.