The Falcons’ rushing attack has been held to under 100 yards rushing in four of the past five games and will be the X-factor in the game against the Chargers at 4:25 p.m. Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
“We must have a better running game just in general,” Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris said. “It hasn’t been good enough. It hasn’t been up to (par).”
The Falcons got things moving late to amass 125 yards rushing in their big 43-6 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 29. They rushed for 70 yards against the Saints on Sunday, 52 against the Saints in the first meeting and 92 against the Broncos.
“We’re obviously evaluating what we do,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Obviously, we didn’t do a good-enough job in the two games against the Saints over the past three weeks. That’s put us in a tough spot.”
Overall, the Falcons average 100.7 yards per game, which ranks 25th in the NFL.
With Brian Hill not hitting the holes hard, Ito Smith coming off a head injury and Todd Gurley not 100 percent, is it time for the Falcons to see what second-year running back Qadree Ollison can do?
“When you run the ball in this league, that’s how you control games, that’s how you control everything that we are trying to do,” Morris said. “We have to get up to speed. We have to get better.”
The Falcons used Gurley as a third-down and red-zone situational back against the Saints on Sunday. He’s returning to Los Angeles, where he started his career with the Rams, and wants to put on a show.
“We have got to get the ball in our running backs hands, get them downhill, get them some space,” Morris said. “They have to make things happen. There are a bunch of things that have to happen with the run game.”
Ryan believes the run game is close to working. Some more powerful and forceful blocking up front will help.
“The run game, we have to keep plugging away,” Ryan said. “When you go back and you watch films, there are runs that are close. We must do a great job of finishing our blocks, finishing our runs and making sure that all 11 of us are pulling or weight.”
Falcons’ final four games
Falcons at Chargers at 4:25 p.m., Sunday
Buccaneers at Falcons at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 20
Falcons at Chiefs at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 27
Falcons at Buccaneers at 1 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 3
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