Nick Folk’s first game in a Falcons uniform did not go the way Atlanta expected, but the team isn’t ready to panic after one rough night at Acrisure Stadium.
The veteran kicker had a shaky start in Week 1 of the Falcons’ 20-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, missing from 54 yards in the second quarter and then missing again from 45 yards on the right hash. Both kicks sailed wide right in a building that has a reputation for making life miserable for kickers, with the winds and playing surface at Acrisure Stadium often causing trouble.
Falcons special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman said Folk’s first miss was struck well, just pushed to the right.
“I think the first one, he struck the ball really well,” Falcons special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman told reporters on Thursday. “I think he just pushed it over to the right-hand side.”
The second attempt was a different story.
“He just didn’t hit the ball as well as he could,” Aukerman said.
Aukerman also said he walked over to Folk after that second miss. The kicker’s response, Aukerman recalled, was a simple signal that he was fine and not to worry.
Folk did settle in after that. He handled Atlanta’s only points of the second half, drilling a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter and then adding a 43-yarder in the fourth.
“I was happy that he ended up responding,” Aukerman said. “Just taking a kick one at a time.”
For Atlanta, the misses mattered. The offense struggled with Cooper Rush starting at quarterback, and Folk’s two early failures loomed large in a one-touchdown loss in Pittsburgh.
Still, the performance stood out because it was so unlike Folk’s usual work. The 19-year NFL veteran was coming off a stretch in which he missed just three kicks over the last three seasons with the Tennessee Titans and Jets. Aukerman said he also had been sharp throughout the offseason.
“He’s an extremely accurate kicker,” Aukerman said. “Uncharacteristic of him, missing those field goals, and he’s going to get back to work. I know he’s excited to get back out there.”
That confidence matters for a Falcons team that dealt with a revolving door at the position last season after moving on from Younghoe Koo midseason and turning to John Parker Romo and Zane Gonzalez.
Folk gets his next chance Sunday, when the Carolina Panthers visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the NFC South opener. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Both teams enter at 0-1, with every NFC South club coming off a Week 1 loss.
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