The 4-8 Atlanta Falcons are going to need all the help they can get if they want to knock off the 9-3 Seattle Seahawks on their home turf Sunday afternoon.
However, the Falcons will be fighting the uphill battle without their best receiver once again, as wideout Drake London has already been ruled out and will miss a third straight game.
The update comes just two days after head coach Raheem Morris upgraded London’s status to day-to-day, seemingly implying there was hope within the team that London would be good to go for the road trip.
Additionally, defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus will be out as well.
Falcons Relying On Practice Squad Receivers To Pick Up Slack
Last week, Atlanta relied on a cast of wide receivers to pick up the slack amidst the absence of Drake London.
Of those players, Dylan Drummond and Deven Thompkins had a particularly interesting upbringing.
As practice squad receivers, the two built up a relationship with then backup quarterback Kirk Cousins , catching passes on the scout team. Now all three are playing on the Falcons’ active roster and trying to right the ship before the season ends.
“You’ve been able to see guys like [Thompkins] really emerge and become a guy for us, and last week he went out, got a couple of completions, was able to be a part of our jet-sweep game, was able to be a part of our return game and he’s really provided a spark for us and those are the guys [that are] going to play to provide those sparks at this moment,” head coach Raheem Morris said .
The entire Falcons offense will have their work cut out for them as they prepare to challenge a defense that is allowing the third-fewest points in the league.
Kirk Cousins’ Offense Without Drake London
In the same game that Atlanta lost London, second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went down with a season-ending injury.
In the last three weeks, it has been 180 million dollar quarterback Kirk Cousins’ job. Atlanta won easily in his first start against the New Orleans Saints , but was embarrassed last week, throwing for just one touchdown in a 27-24 loss to the last-place New York Jets .
The offense has not fallen off too badly, statistically speaking. With understanding that Atlanta played two of the NFL’s worst teams, Cousins threw for 199 yards and 234 yards, respectively.
However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that this Falcons receiving room can not sustain without London.
A 49-yard reception from Darnell Mooney made up most of his team leading 79 yards against the Saints. The rest of Atlanta’s receivers combined added just 34 receiving yards in that 14-point win.
The next week, an overwhelming majority of Atlanta’s production came from non-receivers in the pass game. Kyle Pitts led the team in receiving yards, with running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Algeier finishing in second and third.
No receiver contributed more than 25 yards in the loss.
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