Week 15 Quick Reactions: *deep sigh*

This was one of the most boring victories you will ever see. The Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders put on a show tailor-made for Fremont Street.

Zac Robinson did his best to make Kirk Cousins ​​disappear, but even when he only stopped 17 passes on the pitch, Cousins ​​couldn’t help but make fans groan in pain on all but a few dropbacks.

Here are the Week 15 Quick Reactions.

Falcons fans came

Sincerely, I was at the game this evening and I was not alone. Falcons fans came to support the team and the amount of red was noticeable. ATL chants even broke out after the defense forced a safety.

This fan base receives a lot of criticism from the national media and others who believe they either don’t exist or don’t support them. I challenge these commentators to watch seven years of Falcons-Raiders MNF games and see if they have the strength to keep showing up. Even though the team won, few fans felt rewarded at the end of the game.

Special teams (minus Koo) was ELECTRIC

KhaDarel Hodge IS THAT GUY! He deserves your Pro Bowl votes. Two blocked punts, a blocked kick, a Coffin kick and Avery Williams had one of his best return nights of the season. It was an amazing night for special teams nuts like me.

The group has been inconsistent all year, but they helped lead the team to victory tonight and the timing couldn’t have been better. A conversation needs to be had about Koo, but the rest of the unit deserves a lot of credit for their performance.

The Strange Case of Younghoe Koo

What the hell was that…seriously, did we actually witness the team trying to trick the opponent into a false start with a routine 54-yard field goal? Who do you think you are: David Copperfield!?

Koo should be on injured reserve if he can’t kick more than 50, and he shouldn’t be used as a decoy for a lazy magic trick. To what extent is Koo’s current management a successful strategy? That’s not it. The Falcons have mismanaged their injuries this year (Troy Andersen), and it’s hard to explain why they continued to stick with Koo when something was clearly wrong.

There is a financial incentive to wait until after the season to cut the kicker, but that doesn’t mean the team is forced to do so. Atlanta inexplicably cut Riley Patterson a few weeks ago, but Koo has looked like a shell of his former self ever since.

The Falcons have no more excuses for Kirk Cousins

Raheem Morris finally admitted that Kirk Cousins’ game needs to improve. Cousins ​​was once again inaccurate, prone to turnovers, and a statue in the pocket, and that’s because that’s exactly who he is now. The Raiders are one of the worst teams in football, plus Maxx Crosby was missing, but Atlanta couldn’t even get into the red zone.

Zac Robinson is at the point where he has to hide the quarterback against a two-win team. You can’t plan that. Quarterbacks don’t get reps when they’re that bad; They get benched, but Cousins ​​has “earned the right” to see this through.

The Falcons aren’t world-beaters, but all of their remaining opponents are far more formidable than the Raiders, and if that’s the best Kirk Cousins ​​has in a must-win game, then he’s earned the right to have one to find a new employer unless, of course, Terry Fontenot agreed to a no-trade clause.

The Falcons couldn’t have made their fans more upset after getting back to .500. The team was simply the beneficiary of a Desmond Ridder start and almost squandered that opportunity. Nobody wants their team to lose, but winning isn’t much of a sport either.

The Falcons are hoping this will be the start of a four-game winning streak, but for fans it felt more like a bad omen.