The Atlanta Falcons’ 2024 collapse overshadowed how bad kicker Younghoe Koo was at the end of the season. Things were so terrible that the team was deliberately pursuing downs that they usually avoided. Not only that, but the Falcons would not let Koo attempt longer kicks near the end of the 2024 season. To close out the season, the team would place Koo on injured reserve and sign Riley Patterson.
This would have obvious consequences, with Patterson missing a possible game-winning kick that would have put Atlanta in postseason contention. Atlanta took note of their failure and prepared for the 2025 season by signing German kicker Lenny Krieg.
This was an underappreciated move in the middle of the Kirk Cousins trade talk and Atlanta’s lackluster free agency.
Younghoe Koo needs an early push to keep his starting role in the 2025 season
The Atlanta Falcons kicker made only 73.5 percent of his kicks in 2024. Prior to 2024, the poorest percentage in Koo’s tenure in Atlanta was 86.5 throughout the previous two seasons. It is an unsettling dip that necessitated the Falcons make a move.
Having said that, Krieg is essentially a wildcard who could serve as a backup option.
There isn’t an established career to assess what the ceiling could be. It is apparent that the great range, however, can the kicker deliver when it matters? Koo’s failure to do so during the 2024 season cost the Falcons at least two victories.
This is one of the least discussed aspects of Atlanta’s extremely frustrating fall. Yes, Kirk Cousins and head coach Raheem Morris committed critical blunders that cost the team. Still, if Koo does his job, the Falcons’ season might end quite differently. It was bad enough that Atlanta needed to add a trustworthy backup who they believe can take over if they are forced to part ways with Koo.
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