Falcons ran the ball vs. sixth-ranked defense but passed with game on line

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons rushed 29 times for 167 yards against the Commanders’ defense, which entered the game ranked sixth in the NFL against the run.

The Commanders were giving up 103.1 yards rushing per game. The Falcons elected to throw a pass on second-and-goal from the 4-yard line, but the ball was tipped and intercepted.

The play secured the 19-13 win for the Commanders on Sunday.

“You go into it and that is a good front,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said Monday. “We also feel like we are building something here up front (with) our mentality on the offensive line. There (aren’t any) moral victories, but it does give you confidence week after week that these guys have stepped up.”

The Falcons are averaging 160 yards rushing per game, which ranks fourth in the league before Monday night’s Steelers-Colts game.

“We’ve played some good fronts,” Smith said. “We played San Fran; I know they didn’t have (Nick) Bosa, but that’s a (darn) good front. (Washington), they were playing as well as anybody in the league. Low-possession game. I thought we moved the line of scrimmage pretty well. Thought we had some really good pockets. We were staying on track. They had the one sack on us. Tried to be aggressive. It wasn’t there. We took the sack.”

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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule

Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26

Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27

Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23

Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20

Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15

Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14

Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17

Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT

Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17

Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15

Nov. 20 Falcons 27, Bears 24

Nov. 27 Commanders 19, Falcons 13

Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

BYE WEEK

Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD

Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.

Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD