The Atlanta Falcons’ offense looked downright atrocious in their week ten loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Matt Ryan and company managed just one touchdown and finished with a season-low 15 points. And in a hostile road environment like Philadelphia, 15 points just isn’t going to get the job done.
The Atlanta Falcons Need to Get Healthy Fast
One of the root causes for Atlanta’s lack of offensive production was the key players they were missing. Tevin Coleman missed yet another game after aggravating a hamstring against the San Diego Chargers and starting tight end Jacob Tamme missed his second full game after getting knocked out of the Falcons’ home matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
These are two vital pieces to the Falcons’ offense and with them standing in street clothes on the sidelines against the Eagles, the offense just wasn’t able to move the ball. Devonta Freeman, who has had to take over as the full-time running back hasn’t looked great and Austin Hooper was virtually non-existant in the loss to Philadelphia.
Luckily for the Falcons, both of these players are expected to be back after the Falcons’ bye week. Hamstring injuries, while most of the time are minor, are injuries that shouldn’t be chanced. Resting Coleman for over a month with limited practice time should have him back to full strength in the Falcons’ last six games of the season. And same goes for Tamme.
On defense, the Falcons were without their most prolific cornerback Desmond Trufant. And while his replacement Jalen Collins did a solid job against the Eagles, not having Trufant definitely impacted the Falcons in a negative way. Like Coleman and Tamme, he should be ready to rock after the bye week, which is great news. Because on a defense that is made up of a lot of young players, having someone with his veteran leadership is crucial to their success.
Lastly, punter Matt Bosher was pulled in the second half of the Eagles game with a hamstring injury. He, like the others is expected to be ready to go for their next matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. But Dan Quinn said he would likely bring in another punter just in case.
These are four players that might not make or break a team’s success individually. But when you compile all of them together, it isn’t a recipe for success. Especially with the Falcons in a position to make a deep playoff run.
