Hoping to ride momentum from their comeback win in Week 2, the Atlanta Falcons are back on the field this Sunday night.
Atlanta will play host to the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in primetime on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET and you can catch the game LIVE on NBC and Peacock.
Both teams are coming off of somewhat similar endings to their respective games. The Chiefs took down the Cincinnati Bengals, with kicker Harrison Butker achieving the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of regulation. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a day that left much to be desired, having recorded only 151 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Falcons on the other hand, looked much better compared to what happened in Week 1. Kirk Cousins was the primary focus and how healthy the veteran would look in his second performance. Cousins looked particularly better, as he led a late fourth-quarter comeback with just over a minute-and-a-half remaining. The offensive line was able to open up tremendous running lanes and both Drake London and Darnell Mooney were able to notch touchdowns of their own.
Before we see the opening kickoff, however, we will take a look at four bold predictions that could take place at any point during the game for the Falcons:
Patrick Mahomes’ Kryptonite Strikes Again
No one has intercepted Mahomes more in the quarterback’s career than safety Justin Simmons.
Simmons had spent his career with the Denver Broncos before signing with Atlanta in late August. Playing in Denver, Simmons faced off against Mahomes and the Chiefs a plethora of times and the veteran safety knows the 3x Super Bowl champion like the back of his hand, as he has intercepted Mahomes five times since the quarterback became a starter in 2018.
With that being said, I will boldly predict that Simmons does it again and records an interception at some point in the game.
Simmons may be gone from Denver, but he’s still looming around to haunt Mahomes.
Game Becomes An Overtime Thriller
Be prepared to stay up late on Sunday night.
Kansas City’s offense is going to be a tough one to contain and the same can be said for their defense. Many are expecting Atlanta to struggle in this game and are anticipating the Chiefs to dominate.
I predict the opposite.
I think that Atlanta’s momentum from Week 2 will carry over into this game and they will match up with the Chiefs fairly evenly and keep it close all throughout the night, leading to the game being sent into overtime.
Will the Falcons win if it goes to overtime? Maybe not, but I’m not predicting that deep into this one.
Unicorn Tight End Has Magical Performance
We have been waiting a long time for this one.
Through a span of two games to begin this season, Kyle Pitts has only 46 yards on six catches with one touchdown. It has been just about a year since the tight end has reached 50 yards in a game and even longer since he achieved 100 yards.
We are all eagerly waiting for Pitts to have that game where he explodes and shows off his abilities. I expect that to happen here in this contest with Kansas City. Cousins may look Pitts’ way more often here and help lead to the fourth-year tight end having a very impressive performance.
Reintroduce yourself to the NFL, Kyle.
Chiefs Defense Gets After Kirk Cousins
Here is where I predict something to not go Atlanta’s way.
The Falcons offensive line was able to keep Cousins upright for the most part in Week 2, as the veteran quarterback was sacked only once. Chris Lindstrom and his fellow partners on the line did a tremendous job protecting Cousins and creating holes for the running backs to burst through.
Unfortunately, I will predict the Chiefs defensive front to give Atlanta’s front five a tougher time at the line of scrimmage. Defensive tackle Chris Jones leads the way for Kansas City and he may be able to get after Cousins at least twice just by himself.
Cousins may have to keep his head on a swivel when #95 breaks off the line.
While these all may not come to fruition, that is the goal of ‘bold predictions’, to think outside of the box for a regular season matchup.
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