Atlanta Falcons Set For Uphill Battle After Terrible Start
By Kit Anderson
The Atlanta Falcons have a long season ahead after a very ugly 1-4 start on the year. The latest loss was a blowout to the Steelers the low point of a surprisingly terrible start for what was a Super Bowl favorite in 2018.
Watching the Atlanta Falcons last week was a painful reminder of how quickly success can turn. Two seasons after making the Super Bowl the Falcons are sitting at 1-4 and look completely incapable.
When the offense needs just one play to win, they simply cannot make it. They fail to turn the ball over or simply run themselves out of chances.
The defense has been laughably bad the second worst in all of football letting teams drive up and down the field at will.
Now is the time we will find out what Coach Dan Quinn and the Falcons are made of. Whether they continue to fight for what appears to be a lost season or give up looking ahead to next year.
Offensively Atlanta has the weapons to pull themselves back in the playoff chase. With winnable games coming up against the Browns and Bucs Atlanta could force themselves back into relevance.
For that to happen the defense simply must play better and Matt Ryan and the offense has to get back to being clutch. Matt Ryan earned the name “Matty Ice” for his heroics late in games. Over the last two seasons it has seemed the real “Matty Ice” is Matt Bryant the kicker, not Matt Ryan.
Ryan is an above average quarterback who deserves his own franchise. But with that comes pressure Ryan hasn’t been living up to. Three times this season he has had the ball in his hands with chances to put three different games away.
Each time he and the offense failed and now they are in a hole they will have a very hard time climbing out of.
This week Atlanta travels to take on the Bucs followed by the Giants. Two winnable games that would pull the Falcons close to .500 and restore hope in the locker room.
All eyes will be on the Falcons on Sunday to see if the early season struggles were simply that, or a sign of the things to come this season.