Falcons’ Run Game Faces Crucial Test vs. Patriots’ Elite Defense

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons understand how important their rushing attack is to what they will accomplish in the season’s second half. When the Falcons fail to reach 100 yards on the ground, they are 0-3. When they reach 100 yards or more on the ground, they are 3-1.

At 3-4, the Falcons’ season is not on life support, at least not yet. But the Falcons can’t afford many more weeks where their supposed strength rapidly turns into a weakness like it did against Miami. 

The rushing attack has always been the heartbeat of this team, but in Week 8, it barely registered a pulse. 

“We’ve got to get our running game going,” Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said Monday. “That really is our lifeline of everything that we do, whether it be running the ball, passing the ball, whatever the case may be. That's really our lifeline. When we get that going, we're a really good offense. When we don't get that going, we look like we did [Sunday].”

Morris understands what is at stake for the Falcons right now, and he was not shy in calling out the offensive line as a unit that needed to perform better. 

"I lean on my leaders, and my leaders are up front,” he said. “When you talk about Chris Lindstrom, you talk about Jake Matthews and those guys that are leading up front to get us going in the right direction. Those are the guys that are most capable of doing that for us. Matt Bergeron, [Ryan] Neuzil, all of those guys up front that have got significant minutes in the bag.” 

Now, with the Falcons set to face off with one of the NFL’s best run defenses on Sunday, that unit will be put to the test. 

New England is allowing just 18.3 points per game (fourth in the NFL), in large part because they have featured a run defense that allows just 76 yards on the ground per game (second in the NFL). In fact, they only allow their opponent’s lead running back to average a dismal 37.1 rushing yards per game, with none of them surpassing 50 yards in a single game. 

Getting a ground game (in dire need of a strong performance) going against an elite run defense comes down to execution, says the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. 

“We know we'll be in for a great challenge,” Zac Robinson said. “Our guys will be fired up, like I said, ready to roll. But they just play very fundamentally sound. They don't get beat, and so we know we're going to have to out-execute them. It's going to be an execution game because they're not showing too many different looks, different than some of the teams we’ve played.”

Getting Bijan Robinson back up and rolling after two straight games without reaching that 100-yard mark from scrimmage will be paramount. His back-to-back quiet games have mirrored the offense’s overall inconsistency, a worrying trend for a team built around his explosiveness.

The Falcons’ offensive coordinator acknowledged that, saying he spent half an hour with run game coordinator and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford on Sunday to see how they can get that done. 

Getting a win will be critical for the Falcons on Sunday, and Morris called it a great opportunity for this team to bounce back. That will start and stop with the performance of the offensive line and their overall ability to run the football. 

If they can establish the run against a formidable front, they will give themselves a chance. If they don’t, it could be a long Sunday in Foxborough.