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NFL Notebook, Week 13: Miami madness, Ron Rivera firing, Coach of the Year and more

By Zach Cohen

MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 01: Jason Sanders #7 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates a touchdown pass from a fake field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 01: Jason Sanders #7 of the Miami Dolphins celebrates a touchdown pass from a fake field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on December 01, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 28: Foye Oluokun #54 of the Atlanta Falcons recovers an onside kick against the New Orleans Saints in the final minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 28, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 28: Foye Oluokun #54 of the Atlanta Falcons recovers an onside kick against the New Orleans Saints in the final minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 28, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Turkey Day Antics (ft. the Falcons)

Thanksgiving gave us some exciting football. The Bears-Lions game was competitive as some guy named David Blough showed he can throw a football. The Bills-Cowboys game wasn’t as good, though it did catapult the Bills into national relevancy via their first prime-time game.

Of course, the pièce de résistance was the Saints-Falcons game. Who would have thought that a game where the Saints were up 17 with six minutes left would be the talk of the town 15 minutes later? Apparently, Younghoe Koo did.

The Falcons’ kicker, playing his fourth game with Atlanta, converted not one, not two, but three onside kicks. (Yes, I’m counting the first one that was incorrectly penalized.) There had been only two successful onside kick recoveries all season across the entire league.

Watching this game opened my eyes to an unfortunate truth, though: Matt Ryan has no help from his offensive line. This is a line that received two first-round players in last year’s draft, a la Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary. It’s no wonder Ryan’s been sacked the fourth-most times in the NFL, even if he moves like a broken-down car.

As for the Falcons, you know your season hasn’t gone well when your best plays are onside kick recoveries. It’s time to switch gears in Atlanta and overhaul the coaching staff.

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