Falcons Corner

The Atlanta Falcons travel to Buffalo as 14 point underdogs. Although the Bills have only two more wins then the Falcons, the gulf in class is about as big as you can have in the NFL. Buffalo are for real. They are coming off an impressive 33-21 win at New England. Josh Allen is a top 5 quarterback in the league. Stefon Diggs is as good as any receiver not named Davante Adams and Sean McDermott is easily a top 5 NFL head coach.  It is hard to think of a worse match up for an Atlanta Falcons team, who are used to playing in the comforts of an indoor stadium, having to go to Buffalo on a cold Decembers afternoon. For the Falcons to make the playoffs, they must win their two remaining games, have the Eagles lose twice and the Vikings lose once or win both their games and the 49ers lose twice.  Head to Head The Bills have outscored their opponents by 163 points this season. The Falcons have a -122 score differential. The Bills are +10 in turnover margin, whereas the Falcons are -5...

The Atlanta Falcons won their first home game in thirteen months, thanks to Foye Oloukun's game winning interception with 36 seconds left. It was an underwhelming win against a two win injury plagued Detroit Lions. It improves the Falcons to a 7-8 record. The Game Expectation of a Falcons win increased as it was announced Jared Goff would miss out due to Covid. Tim Boyle started in his place at quarterback. The Falcons offensive line has come in for a lot of criticism this season and they had fans fuming at their opening drive, as they allowed Matt Ryan to be sacked three times. After a Thomas Morstead punt, Detroit starting at their own 38 yard line. Dean Pees defence bent but didn't break as they shut the Lions down in the redzone. They had got to the redzone in part, thanks to 4 catches for 27 yards from Amon-Ra St.Brown. Riley Patterson's 26 yard field goal gave Detroit a 3-0 lead. After the teams exchanged punts, a good 12 yard Avery Williams punt return left the Falco...

The Atlanta Falcons host the 2-11-1 Detroit Lions looking for their first home win since November 2020. Lions quarterback Jared Goff has been placed on the Covid-19 list, so he is a doubt for the game. The Lions are led by first year head coach Dan Campbell. Campbell played tightend in the NFL and his last ever game was for Detroit vs. Atlanta in Matt Ryan's Falcons debut, back in 2008. The Lions stunned Superbowl contender Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, meaning they are coming in on a high. The past three meeting between these sides have had spectacular endings. Last season, we had the famous incident, where Todd Gurley was told to stop short of the goalline, to allow Atlanta to run out the clock and kick a game winning field goal. Gurley accidentally fell into the endzone for a touchdown. This allowed Matthew Stafford to march his team down the field and throw a game winning touchdown, as timed expired to win the game 23-22. The Falcons won 30-26 at Ford Field in 2017 when a ten se...

This picture tells you the story of the 2021 Atlanta Falcons. No quarterback has been hit more often then Matt Ryan this season and Sunday was no different. The Atlanta Falcons fell to a 31-13 defeat against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara on Sunday. The 49ers completely dominated both lines of scrimmages, as they pressured Matt Ryan on 16 of his 39 drop backs, whereas Jimmy Garoppolo was only pressured three times. It seriously hurts the Atlanta Falcons chances of making the playoffs. The game showed how talent deficient we are upfront and how Arthur Smith must improve his play calling.  The Game The only unit who performed well for the Falcons was their special teams and they gave them the perfect start, forcing a huge turnover from the opening kick off. The Falcons thought they had taken a 7-0 lead after Cordarelle Patterson seemingly broke the play, but after review it was deemed that he only got to the one yard line. Personally, I thought there wasn't enough evidence to...

If the Atlanta Falcons are to make the playoffs they will have to win this weekend. They travel to the team currently holding the #6 seed in San Francisco. The 49ers have had an up and down year, but they have won four out of their last five games to sit at 7-6. Former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is the head coach of San Francisco. Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL. The 49ers made a huge trade during the offseason to go up and grab former North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.  Shanahan has decided to sit Lance so far this season, putting trust in Jimmy Garoppolo, the quarterback who got San Francisco to the Superbowl two seasons ago. The 49ers are one of the most physical teams in the league in the trenches. Shanahan loves to run an outside zone scheme. Matt Ryan thrived under Shanahan when he was with Atlanta. It is one of the most friendly quarterback systems there is. Last time the Falcons made the trip to Santa Clara in 2019, they shock...

The Atlanta Falcons pulled off the upset win in week 14, to keep their NFC playoff hopes alive. It was the most complete performance of the season from the Falcons in my opinion. Arthur Smiths men got revenge for their week 8 loss at home to Carolina as they dominated the Panthers in Charlotte. It was nice to see Atlanta win a game where Matt Ryan could simply manage the game. I've been critical of the Atlanta Falcons and Arthur Smith this season but they have done well to win six games without Calvin Ridley for the majority of the season.  The Game The Panthers started out strong forcing a three and out from the Falcons offense. A beautifully balanced Carolina opening drive saw DJ Moore, Hubbard and Zylstra all contributing to getting them to the Falcons 12 yard line before Cam Newton rushed for a touchdown to give them an early lead. 7-0 Panthers.  Russell Gage started this game like he finished the last, catching three passes for 58 yards on the Falcons second offensive dri...

Misery loves company. The 5-7 Carolina Panthers host the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons in Charlotte on Sunday. The Panthers surprisingly fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady last weekend. Brady was highly touted and he was a contender for the Falcons head coaching job last offseason. In week 8, the last time these two teams met, the Panthers were victorious 19-13. The biggest difference from the first meeting is that Carolina will be quarterbacked by Cam Newton. The former league MVP has returned to Carolina after an injury to Sam Darnold. Newton is 6-9 all time vs. Atlanta.  Head to Head Falcons D vs Panthers O The Atlanta Falcons couldn't stop the Panthers rushing the football in week 8. Carolina will be just as run heavy this coming Sunday despite Christian McCaffrey being out injured. The Panthers haven't passed for more then 200 yards since week 4 of this season. McCaffrey missed the last meeting between these sides too. Chuba Hubbard will start in his absence. Hubbard started in A...