The Atlanta Falcons have gotten off to a bumpy start to the 2025 NFL season. Their issue with kickers is quickly becoming famous for the wrong reasons and it already cost them a game. They bounced back with a good win over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2, only to fall flat on their faces with a 30-0 blowout loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers.
During Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. was benched in favor of backup Kirk Cousins. On the surface, one might think it was time for a quarterback controversy, but that’s not the case. The game was already lost and there was no reason to expose Penix to injury or even emotional damage.
Former Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall was asked if it’s too early to panic on Penix based on Sunday’s dreadful performance and subsequent benching.
“Absolutely,” Hall said. “Even though he was benched, I think Coach Morris just wanted to get his guys out of there and he made a similar statement echoing this. The game was out of hand so let’s get our young starting quarterback in Penix Jr. out of there.
Coach Morris wanted to let Kirk Cousins, who is a savvy veteran in this league, go ahead and finish up that game.
DeAngelo Hall stresses that it’s not panic time
The Falcons are 1-2 and very well could be 2-1 if they had their kicking issue in order. Well, they don’t, so they lost Week 1 because they struggled to get three points when they needed it. Should be a simple fix, but apparently it’s not.
But the facts are the facts and you are what your record says you are, and the Falcons are 1-2. Hall says it’s way too early to worry.
It’s way too early to panic though for Falcons fans,” he said. They’re a young team who need to get some guys healthy and it sometimes just happens in the NFL. You meet a buzzsaw. You don’t come out ready to play and the other team hits you in the mouth.”
Overall, DeAngelo Hall was happy with the Falcons until Sunday
Hall feels like a lot of Atlanta fans probably feel. The Falcons were doing okay through two weeks until they got absolutely lambasted by the Panthers. Losing handily to the Panthers is bad enough, but getting shut out?
“I’ll tell you what,” Hall said. Until Week 3, I would’ve said they were doing really darn good but then they went out against the Carolina Panthers and dropped an egg.
I wasn’t expecting that from the Atlanta Falcons, especially with the leadership of Raheem Morris and everything they’ve been able to do with the players they’ve got. I wasn’t expecting the Panthers to come and just jump on them the way they did.
“When you look at the scoreboard, it was all because of turnovers. The offense has to be better. You cannot turn the football over, and you can’t give the other team points, and that’s what happened. Once that snowball starts in the National Football League, it’s hard to come back from that.”
Hall makes some great points and, not for nothing, the division is hardly anything to worry about. If the Falcons straighten some things out, this loss to the Panthers will be an afterthought and great fodder for the low point in the 2025 Atlanta Falcons Yearbook Video.
DeAngelo Hall Gives Blunt Take on Penix Benching