FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons’ offense clearly is a work in progress.
After three games, the offense ranks in the bottom half of the NFL in most of the key categories.
The Falcons rank 29th in points per game (16), 27th in total yards per game (301.3), 28th in rushing yards per game (82.7), 25th in passing yards per game (218.7) and 25th in third-down conversions (33.3%).
But with the game on the line Sunday and the Falcons trailing 14-7, they might have found their stride in the final two possessions of their 17-14 victory over the Giants. The Falcons (1-2) will test this theory against the Washington Football Team (1-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I just thought that we executed the way that we are capable of at the end,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said Wednesday. “I think if we can do that more consistently, that’s going to bode well for is. Hopefully, we can use some of that momentum this week and try and play that type of way; consistent, efficient and confident. If we can do that, I think we are capable of being a good offense.”
The Falcons didn’t score a touchdown in the season-opening 32-6 loss to the Eagles. They cobbled together two touchdown drives after falling behind 28-10 against Tampa Bay. Against the Giants, they had a short field and scored a touchdown right before the half.
The punter, Cameron Nizialek, has been a busy man.
With the game in the balance Sunday, the Falcons put together a 15-play, 72-yard touchdown drive to tie the score at 14-14. Then after a big stop by the defense, the offense got moving quickly with only 1:50 left to play.
In three plays -- gains of 28, 2 and 25 yards -- they were in field-goal range at New York’s 25. They ran three more plays to erase time off the clock, and Younghoe Koo made the game-winning 40-yard field goal at the buzzer.
“There’s a constant evolution when you are talking about offensive football,” said Falcons coach Arthur Smith, who also calls the plays. “When you are in Year 1, you are putting things in. It’s not a carbon-copy blueprint. This is what we did in Tennessee, this is what we are going to do. Here is the playbook. You’ve got to adapt to your personnel.”
The Falcons opened the season with six new starters on offense, and they are trying to replace wide receiver Julio Jones’ production and put together a new rushing attack.
“There’s a natural evolution,” Smith said. “That’s why I talk about growth and improving during the season. ... You see how teams are trying to play you, what they are trying to take away. Any way that we can be better, we’re constantly looking at it.”
For Smith and his staff, it’s not as simple as keeping the plays that work and tossing out the ones that have been unsuccessful.
“You have to build off of it, but you don’t want to become painfully obvious just because it worked last week against a certain scheme,” Smith said. “You may want to build off of it. ... You just can’t do the exact same thing. Guys are too good in this league. They’ll call it out before you run it.”
Ryan is not alarmed that the offense hasn’t started the season by torching defenses.
“I think every year, even when you have a lot of the same guys, every team is different,” Ryan said. “Your identity and who you become is different. It takes some time to sort through that, and things change with injuries and things like that. With (wide receiver Russell Gage) being out (Sunday), we had to do some different things.”
Ryan has stressed repeatedly that the offense must continue to improve over the course of the season.
“I think that we are growing toward who we want to become,” Ryan said. “We are not there. We have a lot of work, a lot of hard work, in front of us to get there. We are working towards that.”
Part of the equation is how the opposing defenses elect to play the Falcons. The Giants played a lot of zone coverage and double-teamed wide receiver Calvin Ridley and tight end Kyle Pitts.
“As far as how defenses are playing us, it’s a small sample size,” Ryan said. “A couple of weeks, small sample size, but there are certainly looks that we’ve seen with zone coverage and different things like that where we can be more effective than we’ve been up until this point.”
Ryan doesn’t have a sense for how other teams will play the Falcons’ offense.
“It’s different with every team you play and who you are playing early in the year,” Ryan said. “It was a new staff that we faced the first week, so you didn’t really know what to expect going into that. Then a staff that’s been together for a while in the second week (Tampa Bay).
“I think every year is different. I think that every team that I’ve been on, even with the same coaches, are different. It takes some time to shake out. I think each year is unique.”
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Falcons’ 2021 schedule features trip to London, January trip to Buffalo
Atlanta Falcons Schedule
Washington FT at Falcons, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m.
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye Week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
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