Atlanta Falcons’ Pass Rush Dominates Vikings with 6 Sacks in 22-6 Win

"We brought those guys in to do that," head coach Raheem Morris said after the game. "I don't know if it's contagious, but it's fun."

The Falcons saw glimpses of the pass rush finding its legs in Week 1 after they produced a top-10 pressure rate, but they could not reach quarterback Baker Mayfield and finish plays with sacks. That changed in Week 2, and they were able to live in the Vikings’ backfield all day. 

They came out of the gate hot and finished the first half of action with five sacks, which is their highest sack total in any half since 2009. 

The second half was a continuation of that success for the Falcons. Zach Harrison got in on the action with a fourth-quarter strip sack of McCarthy that linebacker Divine Deablo recovered.

“We talked about having to stop the run early, and those guys really went out and buckled down on the run,” Morris said. “It forced [the Vikings] to be one-dimensional, and they were able to get after them.” 

The Falcons held the Vikings to just 78 yards rushing, forcing McCarthy into more passing situations. The front seven was able to pin their ears back and burn them. 

Harrison and Brandon Dorlus finished their days with 1.5 sacks apiece, veteran Leonard Floyd had one, and Ruke Orhorohoro had a half sack. As a team, they finished with a pressure rate of 53.3%, and had a 60% rate at one point in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons have not had a player account for more than 10 sacks since 2016, and they have only managed 169 total sacks over the last five years. That is the lowest total in the NFL by a whopping 30 sacks, and they are one of just three teams in the NFL who have fewer than 200 sacks in this time frame. 

The front office recognized this and was aggressive in fixing this issue. They acquired a steady veteran in Leonard Floyd, who has accounted for at least 8.5 sacks each season since 2020. They also drafted both Walker and Pearce in last spring’s NFL Draft, with the latter of the two coming on an aggressive trade back into the first round. 

This Falcons team got a glimpse that this unit has the potential to do this season, and they will be hoping to see more of this kind of production in the weeks to come.