Falcons vs. Panthers Week 6: The Merry, the Messy and the Meh

After a very underwhelming start against the Steelers and former head coach Arthur Smith, the Falcons have won four of their last five games (and weren’t all that far away from winning all five), including the last three in a row. They are currently undefeated within their own division, sit atop the NFC South (virtue of their win over Tampa Bay) at 4-2, and are the number two seed in the conference, behind only the undefeated Vikings. This past Sunday started off a little rough against the Panthers, but for the first time this season, Atlanta didn’t have to come from behind to win and wound up winning by more than just a single score.

Falcons Week 6 Review

The Merry

The Run Game

After being a bit disappointing overall through the first quarter or so of the season, the vaunted Falcon rushing attack came alive in Week Six. Bijan Robinson ran for 95 yards on 15 carries and tallied two rushing touchdowns. Tyler Allgeier ran 18 times for 105 yards and a score. Atlanta ball carriers were never touched in the backfield. Atlanta won the time of possession battle for the game, holding the ball for 30:40, and absolutely dominated it in the second half, 18:32 to 11:28.

The Offensive Line

Obviously, the success of the running lies not only with the backs themselves but also with the line blocking for them. As referenced above, the Falcons did not allow a single tackle for loss. Per Pro Football Focus, Jake Matthews, Matt Bergeron, Ryan Neuzil, Chris Lindstrom, and Kaleb McGary graded out as run blockers at 74.4, 78.6, 75.2, 87.3, and 76.8, respectively. When they needed to, Atlanta was able to simply impose their will and grind the clock down with the run game.

The O-line was also efficient in pass protection. Kirk Cousins was never sacked and only hurried three times. From left to right the linemen graded out as pass blockers at 60.5, 75.5, 82.5, 67.3, and 82.6, per PFF.

The Secondary

Coming into the game the Falcons were a top 10 team in the league vs the pass. The defensive backfield wasn’t perfect in this game, particularly early on, but in the end, they recorded two interceptions and five passes defensed. Jessie Bates had a third interception nullified by a penalty. Four of the top five tacklers for Atlanta in this game were defensive backs.

The Messy

Same ol’, Same ol’…

After six games the Falcons still haven’t figured out the pass rush or the run defense. In regards to the pass rush, it just seems like Atlanta is cursed. It doesn’t matter what they throw at the problem, they just can’t get to the quarterback. Grady Jarrett is back from injury. Matt Judon was acquired via trade. Ruke Orhororo was drafted in the second round this year. Arnold Ebiketie was drafted in the second round in 2022. Doesn’t matter – the Falcons are still arguably the worst pass-rushing team in the league. They recorded zero sacks and only three hurries against a team playing a number of backup offensive linemen.

Defending the run is also a large sore sport. Carolina ran for 114 yards at 4.8 yards per clip this past Sunday. So far the Falcons are getting away with a lot of bending but not breaking. Come January, though, should they make the playoffs, “bend-but-don’t-break” isn’t going to work against the likes of Detroit and San Francisco.

The Meh

Kirk Cousins

A week after setting a franchise record with 509 passing yards, Cousins came back down to earth against the Panthers. He wasn’t terrible by any stretch, but he wasn’t lights out, either, and he was playing perhaps the worst team in the league. Sometimes he was downright lucky (see the deflection from Darnell Mooney to Ray-Ray McCloud). He finished the day with 19 completions in 30 attempts for 225 yards and a touchdown and a passer rating of 97.2.