The Falcons’ Week 9 trip to Madrid was rough in every direction, and the 34-17 loss to the Bengals only added to the frustration around a team sitting at 3-6. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase carved up Atlanta through the air, while penalties, turnovers, and special teams mistakes kept the Falcons from ever getting their footing. Atlanta is still a half-game out of the NFC South lead, but the trade deadline also thinned out the roster and made the second half look even tougher.
That deadline chaos reached beyond Atlanta, too. Jessie Bates and Ryan Neuzil were moved, and they weren’t the only former Falcons or Atlanta-connected names to get caught up in the shuffle. So it’s time to run through a few familiar faces and see how Week 9 played out for Kirk Cousins, Kaden Elliss, Darnell Mooney, Tyler Allgeier, Arnold Ebiketie, and Calvin Ridley.
Kirk Cousins’ latest stop changed fast. After a Week 9 outing in which he completed 22 of 32 passes for 216 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions in the Raiders’ 38-17 loss to the 49ers, Las Vegas made the move to send him to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 third-round pick.
He was picked off on the final two drives, and the Raiders decided it was time to hand the job to Fernando Mendoza. Minnesota had already been looking around, calling on Geno Smith, Daniel Jones, and Justin Herbert, and settled on a quarterback who already knows Kevin O’Connell’s offense and is familiar with the receivers around him.
The move also keeps a historically elite defense from being wasted by poor quarterback play. The Falcons, of course, would never have made that trade, and they’ll see Cousins again in Week 12, along with his old OC in Kevin Stefanski.
Kaden Elliss turned in the kind of all-over-the-field performance that reminds you why he mattered so much to Atlanta before leaving. In the Saints’ 23-22 overtime win over the Browns, he posted 11 tackles, eight of them solo, along with two tackles for loss, a sack, four quarterback hits, and a season-high seven pressures. He also made the play that swung the game, stopping Quinshon Judkins on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter to help New Orleans turn Cleveland away.
Darnell Mooney finally had a little something to show after a quiet start. Entering Week 9, he had just nine catches for 113 yards, even with a reunion with Matt Nagy in New York.
But in the Giants’ 19-11 win over Philadelphia, he delivered his best game of the season with three receptions for 54 yards, including a 27-yard catch from J.J. McCarthy.
He’s still behind Malik Nabers and Malachi Fields, and even sits as the fourth option in the passing game behind Nabers, Fields, and Isaiah Likely, but he showed he can still stretch the field.
Tyler Allgeier’s Week 9 looked a lot less like his breakout and a lot more like a grind. After nearly 190 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys the week before, he ran into Seattle’s defense and got bottled up in Arizona’s 17-3 loss.
With Love on IR and Brian Robinson Jr. also on IR, Allgeier is Arizona’s starting running back for now, but he managed only 46 yards on 17 carries, a 2.7 yards-per-carry average. The Falcons could use that production themselves right now.
Arnold Ebiketie’s name ended up in the deadline chaos for reasons that had nothing to do with his play in the Eagles’ loss to the Giants. He was traded from Philadelphia to Cincinnati, then wasn’t, after something the Bengals’ front office missed was discovered by a guy on Twitter.
The issue was that if the trade went through, Cincinnati would forfeit a third-round compensatory pick they got for Trey Hendrickson’s departure, even though they were only giving up a 2027 sixth-round pick to land him. Ebiketie had signed with the Eagles this offseason and counts against the comp pick formula, and the whole mess left his NFL career looking shaky.
Calvin Ridley, meanwhile, stayed put in Tennessee despite being mentioned in trade rumors before the deadline. The Titans held onto him after he became part of a strange situation at the Nashville airport involving a lost valet card, a refusal to hand over his car until the issue was resolved, and an allegation that he grabbed the keys from the valet’s hands and scratched the valet’s hand, leading to charges. Falcons fans know Ridley’s history well enough, but this one is unusual even by that standard.
In Other News...
Falcons Defense Faces A Brutal Mahomes Problem This Week
Patrick Mahomes spent the week listed with an elbow strain and sprain, but he practiced fully and is expected to be out there in Week 10 when the Falcons meet the Chiefs. For Atlanta, that changes the conversation from whether Kansas City might be shorthanded to how much damage Mahomes can still do even while working through an injury, especially against a defense that has to be ready for the speed and rhythm of the Chiefs passing game.
The challenge gets even trickier because Kansas City does not need to lean on one thing to move the ball. Kenneth Walker III gives the Chiefs a strong ground element, while Mahomes and the passing attack can still stress a defense with quick throws and yards after the catch. For the Falcons, the problem is less about one matchup and more about surviving the full menu of what Kansas City can throw at them. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Bring Kicker Drama Into Falcons Game With Bigger Question Looming
Harrison Butkers recent run of missed field goals has become one of the quieter but more persistent issues hanging over Kansas City, with the veteran kicker coming up short in recent games against the Seahawks and Broncos. Even so, the Chiefs are not making a change just yet, and the situation now follows them into a matchup with Atlanta, where special teams could matter as much as anything else if the game stays tight.
Andy Reid is keeping Butker in the lineup for now, even as the Chiefs have added Justin Tucker to the practice squad and left the door open to a possible shakeup later. For the Falcons, it is the kind of subplot worth watching from afar, because a team that has been steady enough to keep its footing in the standings could still end up facing a very different kicking picture before long. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Drew A Hard Line In Their Rebuild
The Falcons were willing to make real moves at the NFL trade deadline, sending away key starters Jessie Bates III and Ryan Neuzil as they continue reshaping the roster. But the front office also made clear there is a difference between retooling and tearing it down, and some names were never part of the conversation in the same way. Atlantas approach suggests a rebuild with boundaries, not a full-scale purge.
One of those boundaries was Bijan Robinson. The Giants reportedly checked in on the running back, but Atlanta never seriously entertained the idea of moving him, a sign of how firmly the team views him as part of its long-term core. For a franchise trying to build around young talent, keeping Robinson out of the deadline churn says plenty about where the Falcons believe their foundation already is. [Read more 🡒]