The Falcons (2-9) will have a matchup nightmare when they face the Buffalo Bills (4-7) at 4:05 p.m. Sunday at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The Bills boast one of the better pass rushes in the NFL, while the Falcons’ offensive line has struggled mightily.
The Bills, led by defensive end Mario Williams’ 11 sacks, are tied for the league-lead in sacks, with 37. The Falcons’ line has given up 24 sacks and 59 quarterback hits.
“They do a great job of getting after the passer,” Falcons left guard Justin Blalock said. “We have to do our part and stay out of obvious passing situations as best as we can.”
In addition to Williams, defensive tackles Kyle Williams (seven sacks) and Marcell Dareus (five) rush the passer well. Also, defensive end Jerry Hughes, a former first-round pick of the Colts who was acquired in a trade, has six sacks.
The Bills will move Mario Williams around, and he plays well off stunts with Kyle Williams.
“They do a good job of isolating people,” Blalock said. “That’s the trendy thing right now, a lot of people are trying to find favorable ways to get matchups. They are no exception.”
Rushing attack: The Falcons, who have averaged 74.7 yards rushing per game, hope to run against the Bills, who have allowed 118.8 rushing yards per game. The Falcons rank 31st in rushing offense, while the Bills are tied for 23rd in rushing defense.
The Falcons rushed for 91 yards, their third highest output of the season, in their previous outing, against the Saints.
“I thought we improved on the run game last week, and obviously, we need to keep improving that,” center Joe Hawley said. “They have a good defensive front. I think the big thing is communication. It’s comes down to that every week. They run a bunch of different looks. We need to get on the right guys.”
The Falcons fell behind in several games and had to abandon the run. The Falcons have attempted 40.9 passes per game.
“We love to run the ball,” Hawley said. “Obviously, we’d love to run the ball rather than pass the ball 60 times. If we can get the run game going, it would help the whole offense.”
Losing lessons: Most of the Falcons have never been on a losing NFL team before.
“This right here builds a lot of character because most of the guys in this locker room have not had to witness losing seasons through their whole career, college and high school,” safety William Moore said. “Most guys haven’t been on losing teams. To be in this predicament, it humbles you.”
Several players are coming to grips with the fact that they’ll have a losing season and that they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs.
“Anybody can beat you,” Moore said. “You go from the best to one of the worst records in the NFL. It’s humbling, man. That’s got to be some type of motivation for next year.”
Injury report: Cornerback Desmond Trufant (thigh) fully participated in practice Friday and was listed as probable for the game.
Linebacker Akeem Dent (ankle), tight end Tony Gonzalez (toe), defensive end Malliciah Goodman (calf), safety Zeke Motta (hand) and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (shoulder/knee) were limited at practice and listed as questionable on the official injury report.