ESPN's Dan Orlovsky Indirectly Explains Falcons' Defensive Struggles

The Atlanta Falcons secondary can thank quarterback Kirk Cousins for taking the heat away from the unit. While Cousins has received a bulk of the blame for the team's 4-game losing streak, the Falcons defense has been porous against the pass.

Entering Monday night's action in Week 14, the Falcons are now ranked 25th in passing yards allowed per game. During the 4-game losing streak, Atlanta has yielded 253.3 passing yards per contest.

At the beginning of the season, the Falcons secondary could have blamed the pass rush. But that's turned around considerably in the last couple games. Atlanta has posted 9 sacks in the past two weeks; the Falcons had 8 sacks in the 10 games prior to that.

But even with the pass rush waking up, the Falcons secondary can't stop opposing wide receivers.

To be fair, though, the receiver competition has been stiff. At least, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky considers that to be the case.

Orlovsky ranked the top 20 NFL quarterback-receiver duos of the 2024 NFL season Monday. The Sam Darnold-Justin Jefferson connection the Falcons couldn't slow down in Week 14 fell at No. 3 on the list.

Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey along with Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton -- two other quarterback-receiver duos the Falcons have played during their losing streak -- were also on the list.

This season, the Falcons have faced six of the duos on Orlovsky's list. They have also squared off versus half of a duo from Orlovsky's list on three other occasions.

The Falcons have allowed at least 38 points in two of their past three games. So, there are multiple things wrong on defense.

But Jimmy Lake's defense seems to be significantly struggling with covering No. 1 receivers lately. Sutton, McConkey and Jefferson all posted at least 78 receiving yards versus Atlanta.

The good news is the Falcons won't have to face a top quarterback-receiver duo again until Week 17. So, the team's secondary appears to have a chance to rebound over the next couple games.

It needs to. Early in the season, Cousins carried the team to a 6-3 record. Whether he remains behind center or the Falcons turn to rookie Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons now need their defense to keep them alive in the playoff hunt.