On the hot seat: Dropped passes must stop

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is unable to make a pass reception in the end zone during fourth quarter Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, against the Carolina Panthers.

Credit: Jeff Siner

Credit: Jeff Siner

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is unable to make a pass reception in the end zone during fourth quarter Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, against the Carolina Panthers.

The Falcons on offense are like a fast car that sputters when it’s leaking oil.

Under first-year coordinator Steve Sarkisian, the Falcons have not had much trouble moving the ball, but that attack has been stymied by untimely bad plays.

The Falcons are piling up yards, but are not scoring at a similar rate.

They rank in the top half of the NFL in total yards (372, sixth), passing yards (257.5, sixth) and rushing (114.5, 13th).

The Falcons rank third in the league with 77 explosive plays (runs of 11 yards or more or passes of 15 yards or more).

“We like the explosives that we’re gaining both in the run and the pass, but for sure third down is one we’re digging into hard, knowing we’re putting in the work in that spot,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.

Most of the struggles come from dropped passes, short-yardage and red-zone woes.

The Falcons rank third in the league in dropped passes, with 16.

“I think we were excited to see some of the red-zone improvement,” Quinn said. “We’ve worked hard on that part, but certainly the third-down stalls are ones we’re still working to get corrected and get right.”