1. The no spin zone. Despite five misses in three of the past four games, Falcons coach Raheem Morris plans to stand by kicker Younghoe Koo.
He leaning on an experience from earlier in his coaching career when the Buccaneers got rid of Matt Bryant when he was in a slump.
He re-surfaced with the Falcons and went on to kick another 11 seasons, including in Super Bowl 51.
“I’ve been in situations like this before when I had Matt (Bryant) in Tampa, and we had those same kind of questions, " Morris said. “He came… to Atlanta and had another 12-year career or whatever it was down here. I remember looking at that.”
Koo had misses of 53 and 46 against the Saints. He also had a 35-yard field goal blocked. He also missed a 46-yarder against the Bucs on Oct. 27 and a 54-yarder against the Seahawks on Oct. 20. Overall, he’s missed seven field goals this season.
“Younghoe Koo is one of those guys (who’s) mentally tough,” Morris said. “He’s sharp, he’s focused, and he’s able to go out there and win football games for us at any time.”
Morris was ready to send Koo out for another long field goal against the Saints, but time expired.
“If I had another snap, I was going to let him fly and let him have a redemption Sunday,” Morris said. “So, my confidence is at a high level with him.”
Morris may be discounting the recent misses.
“If you just look at numbers, you’re spot on,” Morris said. “Fair assessment, fair to say those things. But, when you’re talking about Younghoe Koo, you’re talking about the guy that sent us to overtime with a 50-yard field goal to go win it in overtime versus Tampa.
“You’re talking about a guy that last time he played New Orleans, kicked the game winner as a walk-off. You’re talking about a guy that’s been clutch for us over the last couple of years. In those moments, in those big moments, there’s going to be times where you don’t have all the success you want to have.”
So, for now, the Falcons are riding with Koo.
“We’ve still got a lot of football to play,” Morris said. “So those percentages, I believe, will go back up because of who he is and what he is and what he’s all about. That’s just me.”
Morris made a basketball comparison.
“I’ve got Steph Curry on my team, and he’s having a slump right now, or a slump in that day,” Morris said. “I’m not moving on from Steph because he missed some threes. We love Younghoe Koo and what he’s able to do. Just a bad day for us yesterday in the operation and his own personal development and everything else.”
2. Falcons’ offense : The Falcons offense will need to eliminate miscues and penalties when they face the Broncos.
“I mean, (Darnell) Mooney, to Bijan (Robinson), to Tyler Allgeier, to Kyle Pitts, to Drake London,” Morris said. “We’ve all seen them do things at the highest level and if we ever get them all going at the same time at a high level….”
Morris noted that the offense has passed for more than 500 yards and has rushed for nearly 200 yards a couple of times (198 vs. Panthers on Oct. 13 and 181 vs. Saints on Sunday).
“So, I got such a high level of confidence in us being able to go out there and find whatever we need to do that day,” Morris said. “Along with our coaches being able to orchestrate a game plan to go out there and to attack whatever weaknesses that they have in Denver.”
3. Dealing with the Altitude: The Falcons are not leaving early to adjust to Denver’s high altitude.
“No, we’re going to lay and wake up and play,” Morris said. “That’s what the science is. We’ll stick with that.”
4. Broncos have stout defense: The Broncos have leaned heavily on their top ranked defense.
The Broncos allow just 17.7 points per game, which is fourth in the league. The give up 295.7 yards per game, which ranks fifth. The run defense (103.5 per game, seventh) is stout and cornerback Patrick Surtain II heads up a strong pass defense ( 192.2 per game, 10th).
“I got so much respect, first of all, for (Denver defensive coordinator) Vance, Joseph,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “And what they’ve been able to do on defense. It’s been really fun to watch.”
Weakside linebacker Nik Bonitto leads the Broncos with seven sacks.
5. Bo Nix is playing well: Offensively, the Broncos start Bo Nix, who was the sixth quarterback taken (12th overall) in the 2024 draft behind Caleb Williams (first), Jayden Daniels (second), Drake Maye (third), Michael Penix Jr. (eight by the Falcons) and J.J. McCarthy (10th).
Nix, who played at Auburn and Oregon, has completed 206 of 324 passes (63.6%) for 1,968 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has a passer rating of 83.
Courtland Sutton is the top receiver with 42 catches for 569 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Javonte Williams in the top rushing with 103 carries for 368 yards. Jaleel McLaughlin has 55 rushes for 220 yards.
Audic Estime carried the load against Chiefs. He had 14 carries for 53 yards.
“Nix is playing really well,” Morris said. “We got a chance to evaluate him throughout this process, going in as a quarterback. He’s definitely a guy that was a competitor. He was sharp. He was fun to be around. It looks like that’s how he’s playing.”
Nix converted three times on third downs in the potential game-winning drive against the Chiefs.
“He’s feisty,” Morris said. “He’s got an edge to him. He’s not afraid to use his legs.”
Nix has rushed 61 times for 388 yards.
“He’s learning every single day,” Morris said. “He’s got a growth mindset about him. He’s got a coordinator (Joe Lombardi) and head coach that I (have) so much respect for. I’ve been able to go against those guys for years.”
6. Playoff push: Like the Falcons, the Broncos are trying to make a playoff push. They haven’t been to the playoffs since the 2015 season.
“There’s a lot ahead obviously,” Payton said. “We have (seven) games left. I think this team has been resilient. The sky isn’t falling relative to our season and the schedule. We’re sitting here at 5-5. Obviously, we’d have loved to have been 6-4 with a win (over the Chiefs), but the focus (is) just quickly to the next game.
“I like the leadership on this team—someone asked about that (Sunday). It’s an entirely different team than a year ago. It’s tough—it’s tough mentally and physically. We have to have a good week of practice here coming up for Atlanta.”
7. Series history: This will be the 16th meeting. The Broncos lead the series, 8-7. The Falcons won the last meeting 34-27 on Nov. 8. 2020.
8. Where to watch, listen, livestream Falcons at Saints:
The game: Falcons (6-4) at Broncos (5-5), 4:05 p.m. at Empower Field at Mile High.
TV: Fox 5 – Play-by-Play: Kevin Kuger. Analyst: Daryl Johnston. Sideline reporter: Laura Okmin.
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Jake Cook. Pregame/Postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson. Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain (studio producers). Dylan Matthews (network studio producer) and Chris Thomas (local studio producer).
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 380. Saints 228 and on the App.
Livestream: Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International. There are several other subscription services.
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official 53-man depth chart heading into Sunday’s game with the Broncos:
OFFENSE
QB: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
RB: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Jase McClellan
WR: Drake London, KhaDarel Hodge
WR: Darnell Mooney, Casey Washington
SWR: Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge
TE: Kyle Pitts
TE: Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley
LT: Jake Matthews, Brandon Parker
LG: Matthew Bergeron, Kyle Hinton, Elijah Wilkinson
C: Ryan Neuzil, Matt Hennessy, Jovaughn Gwyn
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT: Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton
DEFENSE
ROLB: James Smith-Williams, DeAngelo Malone
DE: Grady Jarrett, Kentavious Street, Eddie Goldman
NT: David Onyemata, Brandon Dorlus
DE: Zach Harrison, Ta’Quon Graham, Brandon Dorlus
LOLB: Matthew Judon, Arnold Ebiketie
IL: Kaden Elliss, JD Bertrand, Rashaan Evans
ILB: Nate Landman, Troy Andersen
LCB: A.J. Terrell, Kevin King
RCB: Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III
NCB: Dee Alford, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
SS: Justin Simmons, Richie Grant
FS: Jessie Bates III
Special teams
K: Younghoe Koo
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Liam McCullough
KR: Avery Williams, Ray-Ray McCloud, Mike Hughes
PR: Avery Williams, Mike Hughes
About the Author
