Atlanta Falcons Earn an Extra Day of Rest With Injuries Plaguing Roster

The Atlanta Falcons will earn an extra day of rest this week, not playing until Monday night when they face the New York Giants.  A much needed day of rest for a team who continues to be hit hard by injuries.

Over the last two seasons, the Atlanta Falcons have been very fortunate when it comes to injuries. Their team has played out two years without any huge season-altering injuries. The opposite has been true on both sides of the ball this season.

After losing both their starting safeties for the season the Falcons have struggled badly on defense. Deion Jones the star middle linebacker will be out as well until at least week 11. Both of the Falcons best two defensive linemen, Takk Mckinley, and Grady Jarrett have struggled with injuries as well.

Calvin Ridley and clutch kicker Matt Bryant join the list of injured players this week. Ridley missed much of the game last week, and Bryant left the game after hitting what was a game-winning field goal.

With this in mind, an extra day of rest is huge for a struggling and banged up Falcon’s roster. The Giants have been awful this season and will offer the Falcons a chance to continue to attempt to climb back into relevance.

A win on Monday Night Football would help reassure fans the Falcons could climb out of a 1-4 start and get back into a Wildcard race.

The Falcons two wins on the season have come against division opponents in the Tampa Bay Bucs and Carolina Panthers.  With a winning division record and the majority of the season left the Falcons have more than enough time to recover and turn their season around.

Injuries may be an explanation for the Falcon’s slow start, but not a viable excuse for a roster still full of talent. Monday night’s game will kick off on ESPN at 8:30 EST.