FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons plan to take some of the good things they did against the Saints, expand on them and carry them forward into the season.
The Falcons (0-1) must shake off the disappointing 27-26 loss to the Saints and get ready to face the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams (0-1) at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
“The game usually comes down to, in the NFL, especially against a good team, is situationally,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “You turn the ball over in the red zone, you have a penalty down there. We’ll get that stuff cleaned up.”
Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. Keep their heads up: Smith message to the team was upbeat.
“Just keep our heads up,” linebacker Mykal Walker said. “We are in a good spot. We wished the outcome would have been different, but keep your heads up and see where we go in Week 2.”
The defense, which opened with nine new starters from last season’s season opening defense, started the season with a three-and-out. They had the Saints on the ropes, but couldn’t knock them out late.
“It felt good,” Walker said of early part of their performance. “Everybody meshed together. That’s when the coverage and the front, they come together and we play well together. We were in sync. That’s the results. I think we like the result, we just have to continue to do it for four quarters.”
2. Pass rush early: The pass rush netted four sacks and eight quarterback hits.
“We know that was a point of emphasis,” outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. “Getting pressure on the quarterback. Not letting him sit in the pocket and pick guys apart. We’re getting there.”
The Saints changed their protections and started getting the ball out faster in the fourth quarter.
“There are positives,” Carter said. “It’s never as bad as it feels. Just like it’s never as good as it feels.”
3. New signal caller: Walker is the defense’s new signal caller. He made his first season-opening starts against the Saints.
“We felt good. Guys were flying around. The defense was locking up the back end and gave us some coverage sacks,” said Walker, who had six tackles and a forced fumble. “The front line was winning. Making Jameis (Winston) run around there. Making him uncomfortable and getting him off his spot. I think we played well. Obviously, we have to finish better, but I think we played well.”
The Falcons are putting a lot of stock in their film study of the Saints’ game.
“Even if we would have kicked that field goal and won, they still came back,” Walker said. “So, we have things to fix up.”
4. Falcons were ready to play: Unlike last season’s opener, the Falcons were ready to play.
The Falcons played their starters slightly more in the exhibition season and used joint practices against the Jets and Jaguars to help them get ready.
Last season, the Falcons were bombed 32-6 by the Eagles in their opener.
5. The offensive line balled out: The much-maligned offensive line paved the way for 201 yards rushing on 38 carries (5.5 average per carry)
“I thought along the line of scrimmage tlayed pretty well for the most part,” Smith said. “It wasn’t perfect. When you run the ball 38 times for 200 yards, (that will) give you a chance most weeks.”
Given that the line had been blocking so well, the call not to try to win the game on fourth-and-1 late in the game more perplexing.
“We just had to find a way to finish it there at the end,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “I know we did a lot of good things. It’s pressure. It’s a long year. We can build off of this and I think our story is (not written) yet. There is still a lot more to come.”
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The Bow Tie Chronicles
Atlanta Falcons 2022 NFL schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18 at Los Angeles Rams, 4:05 p.m.
Sept. 25 at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Oct. 9 at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
Oct. 16 vs. San Francisco, 1 p.m.
Oct. 23 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Oct. 30 vs. Carolina, 1 p.m.
Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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