FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons clearly still are a work in progress under first-year coach Raheem Morris.
But fixing some things – like the missed tackles that Bill Belichick alluded to on the ESPN “ManningCast” – are a little easier coming off an exhilarating last-minute 22-21 victory over the Eagles in a nationally televised game Monday.
“This will help a lot,” Falcons safety Justin Simmons told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Because by no means did we play perfect football. We (went to Philadelphia) and said we had to play good defense. At times we did. We were a little leaky at times as well.”
The Falcons’ inside linebackers – Troy Andersen more than Kaden Elliss – struggled at times.
“You know, those are things that are correctable,” Simmons said. “Obviously, the correctable things are lot better when you are looking at the tape with a win rather than a loss.”
Here are five things we learned from the win:
1. Rushing attack is key: The Falcons opened the game with quarterback Kirk Cousins under center after all of the fuss over the Falcons playing in the pistol and shotgun formations in the opener against the Steelers and being predictable.
Robinson rushed 14 times for 97 yards, just missing his third 100-yard game of his career. He also caught four passes for 25 yards.
Allgeier rushed nine times for 53 yards and caught a pass for 12 yards.
Robinson played 46 of the 61 offensive snaps (75.4%), and Allgeier played 13 offensive snaps (21.3%). He also played 13 special-teams snaps (59%).
Overall, the Falcons rushed 28 times for 152 yards (5.4 per carry).
2. Run defense was leaky: Eagles running back Saquon Barkley rushed 22 times for 95 yards (4.3 per carry), including a long run of 11 yards.
Elliss and Andersen took turns spying on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts early, but eventually he started to get loose and rip off key runs.
Hurts rushed 13 times for 85 yards (6.5 per carry) and scored on a quarterback sneak. Kenny Gainwell had two carries for 6 yards.
The Falcons will need to play much more stout up front, like Belichick suggested, and not fall off their tackles.
The Falcons, like most teams, don’t practice live-tackling in practice anymore. So, this problem definitely is “correctable,” like Simmons suggested.
The Eagles rushed for 186 yards.
“They were running the ball,” Falcons outside linebacker Matthew Judon said. “We have to stop that. When it mattered, we clutched up. So, that’s good. We’ll go back and watch the film and see what we need to improve on.”
The Falcons are giving up 161.5 yards rushing per game.
3. Pass rush coming along: Judon had his first full sack with the Falcons, while defensive tackle Grady Jarrett had three of the five quarterback hits. Judon and Elliss also had quarterback hits, but Hurts had a lot of time for most of the day.
Hurts completed 23 of 30 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown – and threw the game-sealing interception. He finished with a passer rating of 88.6.
Barkley dropped a potential game-winning pass from Hurts that kept the Falcons’ hopes alive.
“I appreciated that,” Judon said. “It let us get off the field. Get the ball back to the offense and see what they can do.”
4. Milestone for Cousins: With two touchdown passes, Cousins tied Joe Montana for 19th all-time in NFL history with 273 career passing touchdowns.
The great Montana played for the 49ers and Chiefs from 1979-94.
Cousins tossed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney and a 7-yard game-winning throw to wide receiver Drake London with 19 seconds left to play.
Cousins passed for 241 yards in the game. He needed 374 to tie Drew Brees (152 games) as the third-earliest player to reach 40,000 career passing yards, trailing only Matthew Stafford (147 games) and Matt Ryan (151). Cousins now has 39,867 yards over 152 career games.
“We protected well,” Cousins said. “Guys were dialed in on their routes and made plays.”
The Eagles played soft coverages at the outset of the drive.
“They obviously (were) willing to surrender some yards, they just (couldn’t) give up that final touchdown,” Cousins said. “So, it felt like the first throw was pretty contested, but then had a couple where it felt like they were allowing us to be able to throw things underneath or down the field, as long as we weren’t getting over their heads.”
That plan by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio backfired.
“As we got closer, I thought, ‘OK, now the coverage is going to tighten,’” Cousins said. “That was where it was so important that Drake was able to win the front pylon because we were getting tighter, where it was going to be tight throws.”
5. Bates to the rescue: Falcons safety Jessie Bates III came up with the interception that sealed the victory.
He also led the Falcons with 12 tackles.
“He’s unbelievable,” Simmons said. “He’s a huge reason why I came here to play. Having the opportunity to share the field with him. He’s always played great ball throughout his career.”
Simmons had five tackles.
“To be able to go out there and know that you have a partner in him … to be able to shut down his side of the field is huge,” Simmons said. “It helps our defense. Plays that might not even show in the stat book. I’m proud to be able to work with him.”
Bates is enjoying things so far this season.
“When it’s time to work, it’s time to work,” Bates said. “But when it’s time to step back and focus on the mental part of it, I think that’s what (Morris) does best. That makes you play harder. It makes you want to play hard for (Morris). I’m just happy that he’s my head coach.”
About the Author
