Atlanta Falcons Make Decision With Zac Robinson, Offense Staff

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons have decided not to make any changes to their offense or the staff after their 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins. The unit came under fire after another dismal performance in a Week 8 loss. 

They had just 11 first downs against the Dolphins, their lowest total since 2008. They did not complete a third-down conversion until 12:38 remained in the game, finishing just 2-for-11 (18%). They also failed on two of their four fourth-down conversions. 

Despite featuring an elite rushing attack with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, the Falcons managed just 45 yards on the ground against the league’s worst run defense. That dynamic duo finished with just 13 carries for 29 yards (2.23 yards per carry). 

By the end of the game, Atlanta was outgained by 125 yards, but 65 of the Falcons’ 213 total net yards came with the Falcons down 31 points with 8:36 left in the game.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris expressed his confidence in the staff to get things going. 

“I’ve got so much confidence in Zac,” Morris explained on Monday. I don't know what they are ranked the National Football League, as far as points, I mean, moving the ball and all that type of stuff. I know we can move the football. I know we got the ability to do those things. We've been ranked as high as five, as low as whatever, but these guys can move the football. 

“They’ve got a great plan. They do a really good job. And we got a lot of confidence that we'll get it going. And we got to get going this week. Every time you ride, the up and down roller coaster, [where you] have a good game, have a bad game, have a good game, have a bad game. Those questions are always going to be there. Those are always fair in the business that we're in.” 

The leaders of the offense believe that the issues come down a lack of execution on a week-to-week basis. 

“It's not a staff problem,” Chris Lindstrom emphasized after the game. “They're amazing. [From a] preparation standpoint, we're fully prepared every single week. [We have] confidence in the plan, belief in the plan, we just need to go out and execute.” 

Bijan Robinson echoed the thoughts of this team captain. 

“I'm very confident,” the running back said. “Zac does a very good job. He takes a lot of time out of his day to make sure that we have the best outing that we can on Sundays. Sometimes there's lulls and stuff, but I'm very confident in him.” 

No matter what they may say, the results have been inconsistent and too often not good enough for the Falcons to give themselves a chance to win games. 

After nearly topping the NFL in total offense, the Falcons have slipped down to 15th in just two games. In that same span, the offense fell to 28th in the NFL in scoring offense (17.1 PPG). Throughout the season, the Falcons have struggled to consistently finish drives with points. 

Critics have called the offense predictable, but Morris pushed back on that thought. 

“It's hard to say that you're predictable, but I can't talk about the situation yesterday when you do get predictable,” the head coach said. “You go down three points, so a three-possession game, and you got to go out there and throw it every single snap. That's going to make anybody predictable. That's a problem, and we've been in that situation probably twice this year.

“Those situations make it really easy, make it really predictable, make it easy to figure it out when you know you got to pass, and the guys can pin back their ears and go rush. So we got to get better from a whole standpoint when it comes to those things, and maintaining and staying on schedule so we can get our offense going.” 

Sunday’s loss is the second in a row for the Falcons, but the competition figures to get a lot more difficult from here. Up next are a pair of the hottest teams in the NFL. The Patriots have won five-straight games, and the Colts sit with the AFC’s best record at 7-1. 

Now, they are left with 10 games to right the ship and make a run at the postseason. If the Falcons want to avoid a potential four-game losing streak that would almost certainly derail those hopes, they will need to reset and do so quickly.