The Atlanta Falcons did it once. It didn't work. They tried it again. And, once more, it didn't work.
With 9:46 remaining in the second quarter of Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Facons faced a third-and-1 from their own 39-yard line. Star receiver Drake London sprinted from the left side of the formation to the right, the pre-snap motion hardly out of the ordinary.
Then, Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins received the snap, turned around and handed the ball to London — who was dropped for a three-yard loss by Chargers safety Derwin James.
Atlanta was forced to punt — but evidently, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson wasn't dissuaded from calling it again.
Needing a first down to extend their final drive, the Falcons had another third-and-1, and again ran a jet sweep, this time to slot receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III.
Unlike London, who had never taken a handoff in his NFL career, McCloud has plenty of ballcarrier experience. He'd already taken six carries this season and 21 as a professional, highlighted by a 71-yard touchdown run in 2022 when he was with the San Francisco 49ers.
But that experience proved futile, and McCloud suffered a similar fate to London: tackled for a two-yard loss. The Falcons converted fourth-and-3 the following play thanks to a defensive holding penalty, but the individual result of that sequence didn't negate the trouble in Atlanta's process.
And Falcons head coach Raheem Morris acknowledged as much in his press conference Monday.
"That was a bad play call," Morris said. "You can talk about that all day. I'm pretty open and honest with you when I tell you it was a bad play call. We didn't like the play call versus that look, particularly."
The Falcons' final drive ended with Cousins throwing a career-high-tying fourth interception, this one in desperation mode on fourth-and-12. It capped a frustrating day not only for Cousins but Atlanta's entire offense, which totaled 350 yards from scrimmage — nearly double the Chargers' total — yet scored only one touchdown.
Atlanta went 1-of-4 on its redzone trips, as running back Bijan Robinson's two-yard rushing score was the team's lone time crossing the goal line. The other three trips ended in a made field goal, missed field goal and interception from Cousins.
The Falcons have scored one offensive touchdown in their past nine quarters, while Cousins is in the midst of a career-long three-game stretch without a passing score.
Atlanta's offense needs answers — and it doesn't seem likely to find any by running jet sweeps.
