Falcons back Koo despite 3 missed FGs in loss

NEW ORLEANS — Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo missed three field goal attempts Sunday in a loss against the Saints. But he is not in danger of losing his job, according to coach Raheem Morris.

“I’ve got all the confidence in the world [in Koo],” Morris said in his postgame news conference. “He’s one of the best kickers in this game. He’s done it for a long time. He had an off day. It happens a bunch of times. Like, shooters shoot. We went out there and took a shot today and didn’t make it.”

Koo missed a 46-yard field goal with 6:43 left in the game that would have tied it. The Falcons ended up falling to the Saints 20-17 at the Caesars SuperDome. Koo also missed a first-quarter field goal that would have evened the score and had another blocked with 19 seconds left in the first half and the Falcons down 17-7.

“It’s not the standard that we have, or I have for myself,” Koo said after the game. “This game is fully on me. I’ll take that and yeah, that’s not OK. I think we were playing well enough to win the football game, especially this one, and I let the team down and I don’t take that lightly. It’s one of the lowest points as a kicker.”

Koo, 30, has been one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL over the last decade. He came into the game with the sixth-best field-goal percentage in league history (87.63%) with a minimum of 100 attempts. In 2022 and 2023 combined, Koo was 32-of-37 on field goals.

But he is only 17-of-24 (70.8%) this season, his worst performance since he went 3-of-6 as a rookie in 2017 with the Los Angeles Chargers.

“It doesn’t really matter what you have done in the past,” Koo said. “The next … kick has to be the [best] one. And I’ve just got to move on.

Koo said he made an adjustment after missing the first field goal and the last one felt good coming off his foot. It ended up clanking off the right upright and Koo put his hands on his head in frustration.

Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins said Koo should not have even had to make those kicks for the Falcons to win because the offense should have gotten into the end zone more.

“I’ve always felt that when you kick field goals, you tend to lose,” Cousins said. “And when you score touchdowns, you tend to win.”

Morris and his teammates provided support for the kicker afterward, Koo said.

“We love Koo,” Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell said. “Just, it’s a tough job. Any time points are missed or any time we give up points, it’s always critical and crucial. But we know who Koo is, we know he’s our leading specialist on the team, and we all love and appreciate everything he do week in and week out.”