ATL Standard

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 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 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 part of. However, a good roster means little if it doesn't win games.

Leaders of this team have said multiple times: They have to earn fans' trust by proving they are as good as preseason rankings suggest.

Proof — at least offensively — didn't materialize Sunday. And the reality is that despite their opportunities to prove it otherwise made their loss sting more.

The Steelers were held to six field goals. They made it to the red zone twice but never scored touchdowns. Was Atlanta's defense perfect Sunday? No. Players in the locker room and head coach Raheem Morris noted there were explosive plays they'd like back and runs they wished they'd stopped. But did this defense create stops when needed? Yes.

"We had our opportunities," Morris said.

These opportunities fizzled out quickly as Atlanta's offense stalled in the second half. Cousins praised special teams and defense but admitted that their efforts weren't enough due to offensive shortcomings caused by turnovers and ill-timed penalties — issues he described as self-inflicted.

"We didn't sustain enough drives and it felt like a lot of that...was self-inflicted," Cousins said. "... It felt like we had chances but flags or turnovers wiped out those opportunities."

Examining every second-half drive revealed these issues consistently disrupted production. When turnovers occur: In Cousins' career if he throws at least two interceptions his record stands at four wins out of 25 starts according to TruMedia.

Atlanta's first drive ended with a fumbled snap mentioned earlier while subsequent drives suffered penalties such as hands-to-the-face calls nullifying gains or holding penalties erasing first downs leading up significant pressure on Cousins throughout causing him either sacked or under duress five times by my count during those drives culminating into final true drive where after solid field position following Grady Jarrett/Matthew Judon sack resulting punt returned another interception sealing game for Steelers icing clock zero reminding honeymoon period preseason officially over failing meet standard expected themselves maybe even rest league today showed productive offense hurting ourselves tough overcome stub toe hurt ourselves some drives saw potential needs every play moving forward despite playing Monday night Week facing Eagles road Philadelphia difficult fanbases especially primetime slot Eagles coming off victory Packers Brazil no time idle nowhere hide rectify reality Week loss