ATLANTA — The tight end position is one of nuance. On one end of the spectrum, the superstars shine. They make the big plays. They pick up yards on third down. They add a layer to the pass game that — when in the right matchup — is nearly impossible to defend.
But there's another end of the spectrum, too, where the grunt work is done. It's the dirty yards picked up by a running back with a tight end as his league blocker. It's in the chip off the edge of the protection that buys that quarterback just a couple more seconds in the pocket. It's not glamorous.
This is where the tight end, regardless of status, lives. In the best of the gray areas of a game plan.
And in the Falcons' 29-20 win over the previously undefeated San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta tight ends made the most of their biggest moments, but also the moments in the margins.
"We have the ability because of our roster to get into a bunch of different personnel groupings," Kevin Stefanski explained, "and we have four tight ends that we trust on this roster, guys who do a bunch of different things for us."
Kyle Pitts. Charlie Woerner. Austin Hooper. Nick Muse. Four tight ends with varying skillsets and strengths. Four players who made a difference on Sunday afternoon, a day that just so happened to be National Tight Ends Day.
"It's definitely one of the greatest holidays beside Christmas," Pitts said.
Of the bunch, Pitts is the superstar, and he continues to show what kind of asset he can be as a matchup nightmare in the redzone. He's caught four touchdown passes from Michael Penix Jr. in three consecutive games. His final stat line was a perfect 5-for-5 through the air.
Then, there's Hooper, the seasoned veteran of the group. He's returned to Atlanta after being drafted by the organization when Matt Ryan was quarterbacking this team. Now back, he plays a role overlooked by defenses but one that shows up to be plentiful from time to time.
That, and that fire he plays with hasn't gone away. A stiff arm on an 11-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter helped move the chains on a drive that put Atlanta ahead, which ended up being a lead they never relinquished.
Don't forget Woerner, either. He used to play for the 49ers. The organization drafted him, but he's a Georgia boy through and through. He's integral to the Falcons' run game. He loves the dirty work. If he can put a block on someone that springs Bijan Robinson, there's nothing better.
But on Sunday, the Falcons used him in a different way. In fact, Woerner is who the team looked to on an important third-down play. The Falcons were down by two scores in the second quarter. With three minutes remaining, they needed points on the board, but they were facing a third-and-2 play from their own 37 yard line. They needed a conversion. And they snapped it directly to Woerner who ran it three yards up the middle for a first down. The Falcons came away with much-needed points in that drive.
But before all of this...
Before Pitts' touchdown, Hooper's stiff arm, Woerner's direct snap, it was the new kid on the block, one Nick Muse, who got things started for the group on National Tight End Day.
You probably don't know much about Muse. A journeyman through the league, Muse came to the Falcons at the beginning of August. He was originally signed to the practice squad before being elevated to the active roster in the middle of September.
He joined the Falcons after spending time with the Lions, Jets, Rams, Cardinals, Eagles and Vikings. Through all of those stops, Muse has been targeted just one singular time.
On Sunday afternoon, against an undefeated team, it was Muse's number that was called on the goal line.
It was the second quarter, and the Falcons were down 14-3. They needed a score, and they were sniffing the endzone with a first-and-goal play from the one-yard line. Going to their jumbo package, it looked like the ball was either going to be handed off to Robinson or snuck in by Penix. Neither happened.
What did was Muse leaking out to the endzone and Penix tossing the ball his way. Touchdown, Nick Muse.
"We will cherish that moment," Pitts said of Muse's second career catch, and first career touchdown.
When Stefanski was asked about Muse's touchdown, he smiled slightly.
"This is my first Nick Muse question," he said.
In all seriousness, Stefanski continued, not all game plan is going to adhere to leaning on the tight ends as much as the Falcons did in the first half, but when you get a good look, the Falcons like the players they have in that room to meet the moment.
"No one cares about the glamour of it," Muse said. "Just do your job and the ball will come to you, but I will say, I have more fun when Bijan runs for 50 yards than I do catching the ball because that's just what it is. When we all spread the love, it's very enjoyable, and I like being around the guys, man."
But as Muse stood in the endzone following his touchdown catch, spiking the ball into the turf on National Tight Ends Day... that probably felt pretty enjoyable, too.
Get an inside look at the matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Week 7.
