FLOWERY BRANCH -- With a chance to stay in the NFC playoff race, the Falcons’ entire offense will be on the hot seat when they face the No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL.
“Overall, you just see a defense that plays fast,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said. “It’s a good challenge for us.”
The Bills are giving up 287.3 yards per game, which is tops in the league. They also are allowing only 173.1 yards passing per game, which also is No. 1 in the league.
The Falcons believe they’ll have to run the ball to have some success against the Bills when they meet at 1 p.m. Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.
“I know (the Lions) had the ball quite a bit,” Falcons guard Jalen Mayfield said of Sunday’s game against Detroit. “There are games where we dominate the ball, and then there’s other games where teams have the ball longer than us.”
The Falcons had a string of three games where they rushed for more than 100 yards against Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Carolina and went 2-1. They’ve been held to 62 yards by San Francisco and 47 by Detroit in the past two games.
“Honestly man, we need to run the ball better,” running back Cordarrelle Patterson said. “The last couple of weeks, we haven’t ran the ball like we did for three straight weeks. You know, that is just our mindset to try to just continue to run the ball good like we (were) doing.”
The Bulls are led by linebackers Tremaine Edmonds and Matt Milano. Safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde also are dynamic.
“They are great,” Patterson said. “They’ve got a good (defensive) line (and) linebackers. Probably the best two safeties in a game. So, you know, it’s a great team.”
The Falcons noted that the Bills’ defense has been in place for a few seasons.
“They know how to play together,” Patterson said. “We just have to bring our ‘A’ game when we are playing those guys.”
Poyer and Hyde are the only safety tandem in the NFL this season with at least five interceptions each. Both have five.
“They complement each other,” Patterson said. “They are always in the right spot at the right time. We feel like they are the heart and soul of their defense. ... If one of them isn’t making the play, the other safety is making the play.”
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