Atlanta Falcons' Younghoe Koo Issues Message on Missed FG vs. Buccaneers

As NFL games often do, the Atlanta Falcons-Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 1 matchup came down to a kick in the final seconds of regulation. If Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo made a 44-yard attempt, the team would have had the chance to win in overtime.

But instead, Koo's kick went wide right. The Buccaneers held on to win what could be a pivotal NFC South matchup 23-20.

Koo, who competed for the Falcons place-kicker job during the summer, faced the media the day after his miss. The veteran kicker explained what happened that led to his miss.

"Throughout the game with that turf, I was kind of hitting the ground a little bit, so I tried to make an adjustment, which I have done multiple times," Koo told reporters, via SI on Falcons' Garrett Chapman. "I just made the wrong kind of adjustment at that time, and I know what to do.

"But it's just frustrating because I know better than that, and I just got to do a better job."

#Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo addressed the media today after the 44-yard miss yesterday that could have sent that game to OT pic.twitter.com/Ble6zQSg2H
— Garrett Chapman (@gchapatl) September 8, 2025

Throughout his conversation with reporters Monday, Koo repeated how frustrated he was. That was evident by his behavior after the missed kick to end Sunday's game.

The Falcons kicker slammed his helmet down on the ground along the sidelines at the end of the contest.

"Every point really matters in this league, and we've been in this situation so many times. The frustration really came out of just disappointment in myself," Koo said. "I know I'm better than that, and on top of that, letting the guys down."

Koo added how much he and the team wanted to begin the 2025 campaign strongly. Although the Atlanta offense was sluggish at times, it appeared as though the Falcons would win throughout Sunday's game.

But the defense gave up the go-ahead touchdown with about a minute left in the game. Koo was then unable to tie the contest to force overtime.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris told the media Monday that the team will bring in kicker competition for Koo.

“We’ve got to go out there and look," Morris said. "We got to go out there and bring go out there and bring in people to compete. We'll do that accordingly.”

Koo has mostly been a reliable kicker throughout his tenure with the Falcons, which began in 2019. He made the Pro Bowl during his first full season with the team in 2020.

But last season, he posted a career-worst 73.5% field goal percentage. Koo went 13-for-20 (65%) on kicks from 40 yards or longer during 2024.

In Week 1, Koo was 1-for-2 from that range and 2-for-3 overall. He made both of his extra-point tries.

Over 93 games overall, Koo has made 85.8% of his field goals. His last season with a field-goal percentage above 90% was 2021.