The Atlanta Falcons “need to fix” a kicking situation that could put Younghoe Koo in contention

The Atlanta Falcons they have been one of the best field goal kicking teams in the NFL for the last decade.

Since 2015, Atlanta has had the second-most made field goals in the NFL (306) and boasts an 86.3% field goal percentage, fourth-best in the league. Both Matt Bryant (2016) i Younghoe Koo (2020) earned Pro Bowl nods during that time.

However, 2024 was a shock to the system for the Falcons, who missed a top-flight 12 kicks. Koo made 25 of 34 field goals and led the league in missed shots before being placed on injured reserve after Week 15 with a right hip injury.

Deputy Koo, Riley PattersonI only did 4 out of 7 attempts. He went 1-for-4, making field goals from over 40 yards. Patterson missed a 56-yard touchdown run late in regulation in Atlanta’s 30-24 overtime loss to the Washington Commanders on December 29, and his 52-yard attempt missed the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, in which Atlanta lost 44–38 in overtime.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris admitted his team has missed too many kicks this season.

“The brutal, honest truth: This can’t be happening,” Morris said on January 6. “So we have to find a way to make a good kick. This certainly means that we do not win as many games as we would like to win. We need to find a way to create universal competition for all of us.

“We have to nurse Koo back to health, get him back. We have to do some things there.”

Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot – along with the other coaches in the position – worked together in deciding when to place Koo on injured reserve, as well as throughout the process of acquiring Patterson. Atlanta considered whether it was necessary to end Koo’s season or just patch his injury, but ultimately settled on injured reserve.

Fontenot said the frustration with Falcon’s kicking is justified.

“It affects the games,” Fontenot said on January 9. “In the inches game, it really affects us. When Koo got injured, of course we switched him to infrared. Our job is to make sure we fix this in the off-season, so we’ll start the season next year and we won’t have the same conversation. This is our job.

The Falcons, led by Fontenot, gave Koo a five-year contract extension for $24.5 million in March 2022, but Atlanta will not only give the 30-year-old a starting job in 2025.

“With Koo, I know him personally. He feels the same frustration we all feel and will work hard to get back to the level he has been at for most of his career,” Fontenot said. “And we as a staff have to make sure that No. 1 we support him.

“But we also introduce – in every position we have to introduce competition and make sure that we continue to improve these elements. So I understand your frustration. This is justified. We all have the same thing, and we need to fix it.”

Morris said Atlanta wants to find a way to improve and ensure they have the ability to make kicks when needed – whether it’s Koo or an outside option.

But as the Falcons (8-9) sit at home and reflect on their seventh consecutive losing season and missing the playoffs, they will do so knowing that such a phenomenal performance played a role in their second-half defeat.

“Understand frustration, disappointment and all of these things because they impact wins and losses,” Fontenot said. – Then we have to fix it.