FLOWERY BRANCH, GA – The Atlanta Falcons are fighting desperately to get their season back on track after dropping their fourth-straight game in Week 10. One major reason for that is their inability to get wide receiver Darnell Mooney going, and Falcons head coach Raheem Morris had an eye-opening admission about why that may be the case.
After a breakout 2024 season where he caught 64 passes for 992 yards and five touchdowns, Mooney has struggled to recapture that form in 2025.
Through 10 weeks and six full games played, the veteran has struggled, notching just 13 receptions (35 targets) for 190 yards. Of the players who have run at least 200 routes, no one in the NFL has a lower catch rate than Mooney (37.1%).
Injuries, drops, and a general lack of cohesion with second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr. have derailed his season. The Falcons’ deep threat has not been able to fill that role in 2025
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Morris has been asked several times about what has slowed the progression of their connection, dating back to the initial injury he picked up during training camp. No clear injury update was provided, aside from Mooney missing a “few weeks,” but the head coach gave some insight into why the injury has seemed to linger over this season.
During his weekly interview with Dukes & Bell on the Falcons’ flagship station, 92.9 The Game, Morris finally provided the answer to why Mooney missed the time he did over the summer.
“He’s been coming up to speed, which I love,” Morris said during this interview. To which Carl Dukes pressed the Falcons’ head coach on what can be expected of the wideout moving forward.
“You don’t make excuses, you never talk about these things, but we knew how this would work,” Morris said before making the shocking admission that had not been known before.
“Mooney broke his collarbone on the first play of training camp,” the Falcons head coach said. “He missed all that time and came back the second week of the season. That was the first time they [Mooney and Penix] actually practiced together. You start working those practices, you knew the four weeks of the season would almost be like training camp for him.
“So you’re working those things in, you’re getting him going, you’re getting his legs back, and running fast, all those things. Then he had the small setback with the hamstring, and he misses the two weeks.”
Injuries have piled up – first the collarbone in July, then the hamstring setback that cost him more time in the fall.
Despite the ailments that have slowed his season, the Falcons’ staff is still confident he can get going in the season’s second half.
“I anticipate Mooney kind of taking off from here,” offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said on October 29th. “He’s finally getting his legs back. Obviously, we know what he can do at a high level. Had a great season last year. Just the training camp, missing that, and then kind of getting back into the flow, getting his legs back, getting the hammy back, all those things. So, I anticipate Mooney taking a big jump from this point forward.”
The Falcons’ play-caller doubled down on that statement on Wednesday, saying he’s “so close to breaking out.”
Whether or not he can show some improvement down the stretch of the season remains to be seen. His next opportunity will be this Sunday in Week 11 against the Carolina Panthers.
However, what doesn’t make sense is why the Falcons didn’t push to acquire more players to prevent the situation the team now finds itself in. This injury takes several weeks to months to recover from. Morris then acknowledged there would be an additional ramp-up period.
Veteran D.J. Chark Jr. was the only significant addition after the injury, but he was cut just a few weeks later. The Falcons have since leaned on a now-released Ray-Ray McCloud, David Sills V, and Casey Washington to be the secondary option for Drake London in the wide receiver room.
And their production has not been nearly enough to support a young quarterback who is in the early phases of his development. London has 53 receptions for 691 yards and six touchdowns this season, while the other wideouts (including McCloud) on this roster have
The Falcons took a risk, and it burned them.
With eight games left, Mooney is finally healthy. Now, the Falcons need that long-awaited connection with Penix to materialize before the season is lost entirely.
Who would’ve thought that after losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, Joe Flacco would’ve not only defected from the Cleveland Browns about a month later, but started meaningful games for the Bengals thereafter.
Congratulations if that was on your preseason bingo card. Just the fact that Cincinnati swung a trade for Flacco in the first place was shocking enough. Never mind him playing so well.
While Who Dey Nation awaits Joe Burrow’s impending return, Flacco is more than holding the fort down for No. 9. Prior to his arrival in the Queen City, though, the 40-year-old vet felt his career was on its last legs. He reflected on that in speaking recently with the media.
Getting benched in Cleveland for an undersized rookie in Dillon Gabriel couldn’t have been easy for Joe Flacco. Ever since two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson took his job in Baltimore several years ago, Flacco has gone the journeyman’s route through a medley of different teams.
Since Flacco’s 11-season run with the Ravens, he’s played for six other NFL franchises, including multiple stints in Cleveland and New York for the Jets. Leading into the 2023 season, he wasn’t even on an NFL roster. Flacco came off the couch to lead the Browns to the playoffs that year.
So anyone can understand what an emotional roller coaster Flacco has ridden for years now. He got very honest about that in his latest presser, via Mike Petraglia of CLSNCincy.com:
“I think you’re always getting bombarded with these negative thoughts. […] How do you kind of get out of that mode and get into the positive? Never playing football again is one of those thoughts. It definitely came across my mind several different times in my career, whether it was like, fear of, ‘Man, am I ever gonna play again? Or myself saying, ‘What the hell am I doing? Am I even having fun?’ Those thoughts have all come into my mind, and I’ve dealt with them all at some point…So I think I know enough now to just kind of go play and when those things do come in your head, don’t let them affect you in a negative way. […] When you’re not playing, it’s harder to do, yes, but at the same time, it’s like you’re still part of a team, and you still have a task, and you find comfort in whatever that task is.”
Flacco also indicated that he’s trying not to put a cap on how long he’s going to keep playing, but acknowledged that his stint in Cincinnati gave him a new sense of hope. That is, he can still get it done at a high level in the NFL, even at his advanced (football) age.
In his four games for the Bengals, Flacco may have a 1-3 starting record, but this is a classic case of wins not being a QB stat. He’s absolutely slinging it, to the tune of 11 TDs against only two interceptions and a 102.6 passer rating.
Unfortunately, the Bengals’ dreadful defense has let Flacco and the offense down. They’ve lost 39-38 to the Jets, and 47-42 to the Bears to slide to 3-6.
Both those games were easily within reach thanks in large part to Flacco and a revived rushing attack sparked by his arrival. The rival Steelers are the one adversary Flacco did win against, and they’re on deck for Sunday’s massive Week 11 matchup.
I can’t shake the thought that Flacco will wind up in Pittsburgh next season. He can clearly still play. Aaron Rodgers is liable to retire. Why not complete the cycle and play for every single AFC North team!?
Barring some absurd Joe Burrow trade, — the aforementioned Jets do have five first-round picks in the next two drafts to offer up — Flacco won’t be in a Bengals uniform next season. He’ll want to play.
Flacco’s remarks reflect the resilience and competitive mentality it takes to survive in the NFL for so long. Don’t think he got his due in that regard as a Raven, although he wasn’t so publicly introspective back then, either.
It’s been a privilege to watch Flacco play some of the best ball of his career in Cincinnati. Here’s to keeping it going, and all the best to Joe Cool if he can find a QB1 gig elsewhere once Burrow’s back.