A Week 1 Win By The Falcons Answers Some Questions and Raises Others
Photo Credit: Brynn Anderson, AP Photo
ATLANTA (PSF) - With a Week 1 victory in the books for the Atlanta Falcons, pieces of the rebuild look to be working in full effect, while others still look to be lagging behind. The Falcons hosted the division rival Carolina Panthers on Sept. 10 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, coming out with a 24-10 win anchored by a stellar performance from the defense. After seeing how the team played as a whole, it’s fair to say that the season is off to a good start overall, but still has lingering questions moving forward.
Photo Credit: John Bazemore, AP Photo
On offense the Falcons had mixed success, with the team’s “bread and butter” of the rushing attack looking remarkable throughout. Second-year power back Tyler Allgeier continued on his success from last season, rushing for two touchdowns and 75 yards on 15 carries averaging a commendable 5.0 yards per carry (YPC). Rookie top-10 pick Bijan Robinson came as advertised with a stellar performance as well, carrying the ball 10 times for 56 yards averaging 5.6 YPC, and also added a flashy receiving touchdown through the air as well.
The Falcons passing game still lagged behind however, with quarterback Desmond Ridder (in his first Week 1 start) putting up an extremely efficient yet underwhelming performance under center. Ridder threw the ball only 18 times, completing 15 of his passes for 155 yards and 1 touchdown to Robinson. The two highly drafted skill position players the Falcons selected in 2021 and 2022 - wide receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts - made minimal contributions. London recorded 0 receptions after only being targeted once, while Pitts had a better, but not jaw-dropping performance with 2 receptions for 44 yards in the second half. With both of these players being top 10 draft picks, Falcons fans are certainly hoping for more production from the duo in the future.
The offensive line appeared to need work as well, allowing Ridder to be sacked 4 times throughout the game, and considering the low amount of drop-backs Ridder took, this number is concerning. Their run blocking was much better though, with them clearing lanes for the up-and-coming duo of Allgeier and Robinson to rush for a combined 131 yards with an average of 5.24 YPC. As the season progresses, the Falcons will look to All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom, and seasoned veteran left tackle Jake Matthews to anchor this unit.
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Defensively, you could really start to see massive improvements that made the unit look miles ahead of what was seen last year, keeping the Panthers to a measly 10 points and forcing 3 turnovers by the 2023 first overall pick, quarterback Bryce Young led offense. Superstar safety free agency signing Jessie Bates balled out, intercepting Young twice and making 10 total tackles in a showing that proves why he was awarded such an expensive contract by the Falcons this past offseason. The secondary as a whole followed Bates’ lead, holding Young to 148 passing yards and a lowly 48.8 passer-rating, going 20-38 on pass attempts. With standout cornerback A.J. Terrell and young up-and-coming defensive backs such as Richie Grant and Jeff Okudah in the mix, the Falcons look to have an extremely stingy secondary this season.
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The front seven provided a solid, but not overwhelming performance; allowing 154 rushing yards and a combined YPC of 4.8 from Panthers running backs Miles Sanders and Chubba Hubbard, although they were able to keep them out of the endzone. Lorenzo Carter registered the first sack of the season for the Falcons who have been in desperate need of pass-rush for the past few seasons, while Grady Jarrett and Troy Andersen combined for another sack on Young as well. Moving forward in the season, the Falcons will without a doubt look for some improvement on their run defense, and force more pressure on opposing quarterbacks to help out their already skilled secondary.
As the Falcons move forward to host the Packers next week, there is plenty to be confident about after this Week 1 performance, but still plenty of questions as well. Both the Falcons and Packers head into the game 1-0 with fairly new starting quarterbacks and very young skill position groups, and it will be interesting to see how these two teams fare against one another.
