Atlanta Falcons Headed to Playoffs With Plenty to Work On
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Falcons survived the Carolina Panthers to advance to the playoffs with a 22-10 win. Matt Bryant and the defensive effort were impressive while many questions remain about the offense.
Driving up and down the field wasn’t a problem for the Atlanta Falcons offense. The problem was finding a way to score a field goal with Matt Bryant doing all the scoring for the Falcons save one touchdown on the opening drive.
Much as the story has been all season the focus has been on the defense for the Falcons. While they may lack the stars that some of the better defenses in the League boast they play as one unit and play their hearts out from start to finish.
That was the story and the difference in the game in Atlanta on Sunday evening the defense for Atlanta showed up and frustrated Cam Newton for much of the day holding Newton and company to ten points. It could have easily been six if not for a blown assignment that wound up costing the Falcons a touchdown on third and forever.
The frustration for Falcon’s fans has become an offense that is hard to watch at times. They seem to move down the field with ease only to inflict punishment on themselves with key penalties or drops.
Against the Panthers that continued to be the case and allowed the Panthers to hang in a game that the Falcons dominated for four quarters.
Headed into the playoffs the Falcons are going to have to fix their sloppy offensive play if they hope to advance. It is hard to imagine the Falcons defense being able to slow down the Ram’s offensive attack as effectively as they did against the Panthers. If they don’t their season will end on Saturday.