CINCINNATI -- Falcons coach Mike Smith was correct this week when he concluded that his team was beat in all phases of the game, including coaching.
The Bengals, with their average quarterback, mauled the Falcons with a ferocious running game and an unrelenting defense.
It was like the old days in Cincinnati back in 1988 when running back James Brooks (981 yards, 8 TDs) provided the lightning and Ickey Woods (1,066 yards, 15 TDs) the thunder.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Giovani Bernard handled the lightning and Jeremy Hill, the former LSU standout, was the thunder back as the Bengals grinded their way to 170 yard on 45 carries.
Here are the Falcons’ grades for the disconcerting 24-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday.
GAME BALL: Devin Hester showed what he can do in the return game and that could be a good thing for the Falcons down the road. He totaled 118 yards on four kickoff returns, including a long of 36 yards. Hester averaged 29.5 yards per return, which is the highest single-game average by a Falcon since Dec. 5, 2010 when wide receiver Eric Weems averaged 40.8 yards on four returns. Hester is averaging 27.8 yards per return this season which is higher than his career return average of 24.8 yards.
F – Quarterback: The Falcons amassed 568 total yards against the Saints, the highest single-game yardage total in franchise history. Atlanta topped the previous mark of 563 yards set against the Los Angeles Rams in 1980. But against the stingy Bengals, the Falcons had 309 total yards and had 98 at halftime. The Bengals intercepted Ryan, who passed for a career-high and team-record 448 yards last week against the New Orleans Saints, three times. A week after playing his best game as a Falcons, Matty Ice played one of his worst games in Cincinnati. Ryan was 24 of 44 for 231 yards and had a quarterback rating of 48.6. It was his lowest rating since he had a 47.2 and threw four interceptions against Arizona last season Oct. 27, 2013. He's only had two other sub-50 passer-rating games. He had a 46.6 against New Orleans on Nov. 2, 2009 (a 35-27 loss) and a 49.8 against St. Louis Dec. 28, 2009 (31-27 win).
B – Running backs: The Falcons only used running backs Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers against the Bengals. Antone Smith and Devonta Freeman did not receive any carries from scrimmage. Jackson had 11 rushes for 46 yards, while Rodgers rushed five times for 23 yards. They ran for a respectable 4.3 yards per carry.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
C-plus — Wide receivers/Tight ends: Wide receiver Julio Jones finished with a game-high seven receptions for 88 yards with one touchdown. In 11 career games against AFC opponents, Jones has recorded 61 receptions, 949 yards, and seven touchdowns, while averaging 15.5 yards per catch. Jones had a potential game-tying touchdown raked away from him by Cincinnati safety George Iloka. Wide receiver Roddy White caught five passes for 42 yards, improving his franchise record streak of consecutive games with at least one catch to 114. He has pulled down at least five receptions in seven straight games dating back to last season. Harry Douglas and Devin Hester were held in check and Levin Toilolo had a bad drop that turned into an inception.
D — Offensive Line: Ryan was under sieged for most of the day. He was sacked twice and hit on nine other times. They unit did clear the way for 4.3 yards per carry.
F — Defensive line: They got pushed around in the run game and provided no pass rush.
F — Linebackers: Paul Worrilow led the team with 14 tackles and Joplo Bartu had 9 tackles. Prince Shemo had six. They didn't have any impact plays and gave up too much ground in the run game.
F— Defensive backs: Alford simply can't gamble in a cover zero scheme. The Bengals were slowly grinding their way to victory, but his play accelerated the process.
B-plus — Special teams: See above on Hester.
F — Coaches: The Falcons knew the Bengals were going to run the ball, but couldn't come up with a scheme to stop them. The offense had its hands full with a rugged Bengals defense. They did not keep them off balance and White said the unit played into the Bengals' hand by not going with more up-tempo action. Also, the Falcons could have balanced the offense more and ran the ball at the Bengals defense.
NEXT UP: The Falcons host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:25 p.m. Thursday at the Georgia Dome.
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