Falcons offensive line on the hot seat Sunday vs. Colts
BERLIN — With left guard Matthew Bergeron out with an ankle injury, the offensive line will be on the hot seat when the Falcons (3-5) face the Colts (7-2) at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at Olympic Stadium.
Bergeron suffered an ankle injury early in the 24-23 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. Kyle Hinton came on to replace him and played well.
Also, guard Chris Lindstrom left the game late and was replaced by Jovaughn Gwyn.
Running back Bijan Robinson had been held under 100 scrimmage yards in each of the Falcons’ past three games, all losses.
The Colts are another team with a strong run defense. The Colts allow only 87 yards rushing per game, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
The Colts defensive line normally is anchored by DeForest Buckner, a three-time Pro Bowler, but he is out with a neck injury. Linebacker Zaire Franklin ranks second on the team with 50 tackles.
“There were some looks where we have kind of an RPO where we end up throwing a bubble out there to Bijan or any of our guys that, shoot, if we do hand it off, the run looks pretty good,” offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “But we’ll always take those advantageous looks, especially to get to the ball to some of our guys in space.”
The Falcons want to get a lead and run the ball. They’d like to play keep away from the Colts and their talented running back Jonathan Taylor.
“We’ll just continue to coach up the fundamentals, techniques, everything we’re looking for, but we’ve definitely got to get a jump on that, especially this week,” Zac Robinson said.
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Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
