Week 1 did not go the Atlanta Falcons’ way. The Falcons dropped their season opener at home, falling 23-20 to NFC South rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With just under a minute left, Baker Mayfield connected with rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka on a 25-yard touchdown strike to give Tampa Bay the lead.
That left Michael Penix Jr. with a chance at his first career game-winning drive — or at least a chance to tie it. Penix guided Atlanta down to the Buccaneers’ 26-yard line with six seconds to go.
It set up kicker Younghoe Koo — who successfully made kicks of 41 and 36 yards earlier in the game — with a 44-yard attempt to send the game to overtime. Instead, his kick sailed wide right, sealing the Buccaneers’ victory.
Koo’s crucial miss could have major implications moving forward.
"There is a kicking problem in Atlanta that coaches and the front office have to address," Falcons reporter Tori McElhaney wrote.
Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard FG and the #Bucs will escape with a win pic.twitter.com/U2vIXSX9RR https://t.co/qEtDROZtzQ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 7, 2025
Koo is coming off a rough 2024 season, hitting just 73.5% of his field goals (25-for-38). He converted only seven of 11 attempts from 40-49 yards.
“We missed entirely too many kicks this year,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said in January. “The brutal honest truth — that can’t happen. So, we got to find ways to make those kicks. That certainly plays into the part of not winning the amount of games you want to win. We got to find ways to create that competition across the board for all of us.”
Atlanta signed German-born kicker Lenny Kreig to push Koo in camp, but Morris ultimately stuck with the veteran.
“Koo has some emotional bank accounts with me,” Morris said when he named him the starter, per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall.
Koo, however, wasn’t interested in addressing the miss after Sunday’s loss.
"Younghoe Koo bounced from the Falcons locker room by the time the media was allowed in… So much for hearing from him," WSB’s Zach Klein reported.
Despite the disappointment, Penix expressed confidence in his kicker.
"We have all the confidence in the world in (kicker Younghoe) Koo," Penix said, per Terrin Waack. "Just like everyone else, we're not perfect. We didn’t even have to be in that position where we needed to tie it with a field goal."