1. The Falcons Balanced Offense
After Matt Schaub started against the Seattle Seahawks and the bye week, Matt Ryan was ready to return to his starting job after dealing with his ankle injury. In what could have been a classic Ryan-Brees shootout, the Falcons committed early and often to the run in this game, something the team hasn’t done all season. Since the Falcons last win against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Falcons have been a very pass-heavy team in their six-game losing streak. Here are the passing attempts compared to rushing attempts in that six-game losing streak.
Indianapolis: 34 passes and 20 rushes
Tennessee: 53 passes and 17 rushes
Houston: 46 passes and 20 rushes
Arizona: 36 passes and 25 rushes
Los Angles Rams: 33 passes and 15 rushes
Seattle: 52 passes and 17 rushes
Now, a lot of this unbalance is due to the big deficits the Falcons have found themselves in with the slow starts. Yesterday, against the best team the Falcons have played in their last 7 games, the Falcons threw the ball 35 times while running the ball 34 times. The offense looked a lot more cohesive as a single unit instead of hoping Matt Ryan can throw the Falcons back into these games. Hopefully, in the future, the Falcons will try to achieve a more balanced offense, similar to what they did in New Orleans.