ATL Standard

The Atlanta Falcons experienced a decline in their kicking game during the 2024 season, impacting their performance in close contests. Head coach Raheem Morris acknowledged the issue, stating, "We missed entirely too many kicks this year. The brutal honest truth — that can't happen." He emphasized the need to improve and create competition within the team to address this shortcoming.

The team's overall field goal success rate dropped to 70.7%, nearly 16% lower than the previous season. Younghoe Koo, Atlanta's starting kicker, recorded a career-low 73.5% success rate since 2017 before being placed on injured reserve on December 18 due to a hip injury. Riley Patterson stepped in as his replacement but only achieved a 57.1% success rate.

Koo's absence was felt deeply as he attempted to play through his injury until Week 16 when he was placed on injured reserve after being listed on the injury report since Week 13. Despite participating in practices and games while managing his condition, Koo's performance suffered following Atlanta's promising start of six wins out of nine games.

"Koo is the ultimate teammate and team player," said Williams about Koo's efforts before going on IR. "He wants to help the team in any way possible."

In response to Koo's injury, Patterson was signed from the practice squad but struggled with longer attempts, missing crucial kicks against both Washington Commanders and another opponent which resulted in overtime losses for Atlanta.

Looking ahead, Morris stated that improving their kicking game will be a priority: "Moving forward, we want to find ways to get better...to ensure that we have the ability to make the kicks when we need them."