Even after drafting rookie Drake London in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft and selecting tight end Kyle Pitts last year, the Falcons’ aerial attack has not matched the run game this season.
Until Sunday.
Receiver Damiere Byrd also got in on the act during the Falcons’ 37-34 overtime win against the Panthers.
Byrd, who had three catches for 67 yards, gave the Falcons a 31-28 lead just before the two-minute warning.
“Once I caught the ball, I knew everybody was over the top,” Byrd said. “It was really just trying to find green grass and follow the big, strong guys. They’re gonna get those good blocks.”
By “the big, strong guys,” Byrd was referring to Pitts and London, who blocked for him to extend his run at the end of the drive.
Byrd’s big play was overshadowed by all of the chaos that ensued, but the chaos is what he loves about football.
“It was a blur,” Byrd said. “I had 30 seconds where I was ready to jump out the roof. I had about four minutes where I was gonna go cry somewhere.
“But, that’s the beauty of the game. You never know what’s gonna happen. Right when you think you don’t have a chance, you have a chance. The great thing about this team, we’re gonna keep fighting every time we have a chance. I’ll line up with these guys any day of the week.”
Byrd’s touchdown was his second reception of the day and second touchdown this season.
He’s now settling into a significant role for the Falcons.
In the Falcons’ 35-17 loss to Bengals last week, Byrd had a 75-yard touchdown catch seconds before halftime.
Pitts had his second-best performance of the season, catching five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s tough to cover, and he is another guy that we just got to continue to find ways to get the ball,” Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota said of Pitts. “That little fly route that he caught that he turned into 30-40 yards, that’s what he’s capable of doing. More times than not, if we can do those things – just get him the rocks, he gets volume, it’s gonna be good for us.”
While London had one of his worst statistical showings of the season against the Panthers – grabbing four passes for 31 yards – his impact was felt in key moments Sunday.
In addition to blocking on Byrd’s TD, London was targeted on big third downs.
“I think it creates matchups that are very advantageous for us,” Mariota said of the value of having London on the field. “Drake had a great game today. You’re talking about a guy that had huge third-down conversions by running great routes.”
“When you’re able to have guys all over and defenses can’t really key in on certain players, it makes it tough on them,” Mariota added. “So, the more times that I can get the ball to these guys, create space for them and allow them to do what they do, it’s going to be good for us.”
Mariota led the Falcons to a season-high 253 yards in the air, a step up from their 168 passing yards per game before Sunday.
The Falcons – whose passing attack ranked 31st in the league entering Week 8 – were in need of an aerial attack to complement their run game.
“What’s really cool about this offense is, week to week, we can change and do what we need to do to win,” Mariota said. “It’s not easy to do that. You gotta have a bunch of guys that are very unselfish. When you got young cats like Kyle and Drake, who should expect to get a bunch of targets and sometimes they don’t. But, we’re winning games, and they don’t care. They just want to win.
“That is when this team can (take it to) another level. So, given opportunities, these guys are gonna go make plays. And today it was just one of those days where we had opportunities to make plays in the passing game.”
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