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Atlanta Falcons: How to Beat Washington and Move to 5-0

By John Buhler

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The Atlanta Falcons will have a respectable adversary in Week 5 vs. the 2-2 Washington Redskins. How do the Atlanta Falcons beat Washington and move to 5-0?

Entering Week 5 of the 2015 NFL Season, the Atlanta Falcons remain undefeated and will play a .500 team in the Washington Redskins at 1 PM ET on Sunday at the Georgia Dome. Atlanta is a 7-point home favorite over Washington. So how do the Atlanta Falcons continue their winning ways in Week 5?

-= Related: Atlanta Falcons: NFC Power Rankings, Week 5 =-

I think the Atlanta Falcons need to do three things to beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday to move to 5-0: 1. Disrupt Washington QB Kirk Cousins‘ timing in the pocket. 2. Be able to convert third and short rushing situations. 3. Attack the Redskins’ secondary through the play action pass.

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Getting first-year starting QB Kirk Cousins uncomfortable in the pocket will take consistent pressure from the Atlanta front seven. Cousins may have shown a proclivity for throwing interceptions in bunches, but he is completing 68.6 percent of his passes in 2015. With an improved running game this fall, Cousins has shown in recent weeks that he can lead this Redskins team to victories under center.

The Atlanta Falcons pass rush will have to have cohesion in Week 5, with players setting up others to try to make plays on Cousins in what is hopefully a collapsing pocket. All it will take is one poorly thrown ball for the Atlanta Falcons’ secondary to force a turnover and unravel Cousins’ confidence. I’m not saying the former Michigan State Spartan will throw three picks in a quarter against the Falcons’ defense, but I’ve seen it before with Cousins under center in Washington.

The Redskins seem to have an improved defense under new DC Joe Barry. Frankly, anybody might have been an improvement over former DC Jim Haslett in the Nation’s Capital. Washington has studs in the front seven like DE Ryan Kerrigan and newly acquired DT Terrance Knighton.

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Atlanta has had success running the football in the first quarter of 2015, especially against Dallas and Houston. However, Washington enters Week 5 with the 2nd stingiest run defense in football, allowing only 78 yards per game on the ground.

Though RB Devonta Freeman has lit up the fantasy world the last two weekends, I really just want he and the rest of the Atlanta Falcons’ tailbacks to move the chains on third and short against this stout Redskins’ run defense. Hopefully converting on third and short on the ground opens up the play action pass for QB Matt Ryan.

Where I sense the Atlanta Falcons can take control of this football game is through the air on offense. Washington CB and interception connoisseur DeAngelo Hall won’t play on Sunday while he nurses a lingering toe injury. If the play action pass is believable, look for Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan to test Washington’s defense on some vertical routes on Sunday.

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    • When you have an All-Pro like WR Julio Jones and two former Redskins in WR Leonard Hankerson and WR Nick Williams in the receiving corps, look for Matt Ryan to have many pass catchers on Sunday who want to make plays. I have to believe that Hankerson, Williams, and RG Chris Chester will want to have outstanding games against their former team.

    Should the Atlanta Falcons front seven compromise Washington’s pass protection schemes, the running game convert on third and short, and the passing game test the Redskins’ secondary, I think Atlanta could beat Washington by more than the spread of 7 points in this game.

    Don’t look for the Atlanta Falcons to destroy the Redskins on Sunday because Washington looks like a solid football team regardless of Week 5’s outcome. However, a 35-17 Atlanta Falcons victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday doesn’t sound unrealistic.

    Next: Atlanta Falcons: Super Bowl 50 Contenders?

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