Discover the winning game plan to defeat the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Explore five key strategies for success in this upcoming showdown. Next up, we have the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes Benz Stadium. For us to know what we need to do to win, we must first understand who our opponent is.
In the last few weeks, they have run a pretty balanced offense that has shown a heavy use of two running backs and two tight ends. Last week against Houston, Desmond Ridder threw the ball 38 times while Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier ran the ball a combined 36 times.
This season, their defense has given up 5.9 yards per throw, 7 passing touchdowns, 522 yards on the ground with an average of 3.8 yards per carry and 1 touchdown. They have 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles with 1 recovery.
With all of that said, here is what I think we need to do to beat Atlanta on Sunday:
1. Remain disciplined on defense. I know this has been difficult for us this season, but we must go back to the basics when it comes to our coverages. Our DBs and LBs cannot keep trying to make a play on the ball when we constantly get burned and give up a big play. For us to get turnovers, our players have to be in the right position.
2. Stop the run. As I stated earlier, the Falcons like to run the ball a lot and it helps them set up play action passes down the field, most likely to one of their two tight ends, Kyle Pitts or Jonnu Smith. This will be a hard task as the Falcons have an incredible rookie running back, Bijan Robinson, who can also catch out of the backfield and another running back that rushed for 1,000 yards last year, Tyler Allgeier. If we can stop their run game, then Desmond Ridder will be put in a situation where he has to beat us with his arm. Obviously, this would require us to have good coverage on the back end of the defense but, like I said before, if we go back to the basics on our coverages then we should be fine, but we have to be aware of their tight ends. Last week against Houston, Pitts and Smith were targeted a combined 18 times and caught 13 passes for 154 yards.
3. Secure tackles. When we get our hands on Bijan Robinson and both of their tight ends we have to make good tackles. We can’t let their playmakers get huge amounts of yardage on one play.
4. Run the ball early and often. We need to get Brian Robinson going early. Last week we couldn’t run a balanced offense because we were down early. Not this week. Set the tone early and let B-Rob go to work. This will give Sam more time in the pocket and allow us to call more play action passes throughout the game.
5. Take what the defense gives you. Sam Howell has done a better job in the last few weeks getting the ball out quicker and to his check down. Atlanta only has 5 sacks on the season, and we need to ensure they don’t get another 5 sacks on Sunday. Remember, our RT is terrible at pass blocking and will probably be matched up against Bud Dupree all game Sunday.
Ultimately, the game will come down to how well we play defense but if we do these 5 things on Sunday, I don’t see how we don’t come away with a win in Atlanta.
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