There are less than two weeks to go before the first regular season game of the new NFL season, and teams across the league are ramping things up to get ready for Week 1.
One dark horse team has emerged in recent days — the Atlanta Falcons — mainly because they recently traded for pass rusher Matthew Judon and signed safety Justin Simmons, who have six Pro Bowl nods in 16 seasons between them.
In addition, commentator Colin Cowherd is convinced that the Falcons offense will be excellent thanks to the addition of veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, a view shared by betting analyst Derek Brown.
“I’m with you. I’ve been touting this all offseason,” Brown said, via The Volume. “… I’m sky high on this entire offense.”
.@ColinCowherd and @DBro_FFB are “sky high” on the Falcons offense this season pic.twitter.com/7NaxHKcLWO
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) August 23, 2024
Cousins just turned 36 years old and is coming off a torn Achilles suffered last season, but there seems to be an expectation that he will continue to play at a high level, at least for a little while longer.
He has been named to the Pro Bowl four times in his 12 NFL seasons and has surpassed 4,000 passing yards in seven seasons, and Cowherd even said he’s every bit as good as Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, who was second in last season’s MVP balloting.
Atlanta has solid skill players in wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts, and though their numbers weren’t overwhelming in 2023, Cowherd feels they will be significantly better in 2024.
The commentator said the gap between Cousins and Desmond Ridder, Atlanta’s QB1 last year, is so big that London and Pitts should take a sizable step forward in their production.
Cowherd said the Falcons could end up being a 12-win team this year, which would not only virtually guarantee them the NFC South title but also could mean home-field advantage in at least one playoff game.
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