Despite featuring a revived rushing attack, the Falcons struggled to push the ball into the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
On five trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, the Falcons scored one touchdown. With the offense bogging down, they settled for five field goals, including chip shots from 20, 23 and 21 yards.
The Falcons (5-7) will need a much better red-zone performance when they face the Green Bay Packers (9-3) at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Lambeau Field.
The Packers average 31.7 points per game, which ranks second in the NFL. The Falcons rank 12th in scoring (24.3).
Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ units were stout in the red zone.
“They gave us a look that we had not seen,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said on his weekly show on SiriusXM NFL radio. “We were very fortunate on that (dropped interception by Jerraud Powers) that we were able to keep possession of the football.”
Overall, the Falcons have been solid inside the red zone. They have scored 19 touchdowns on 31 red-zone trips (61.29 percent) which ranks eighth in the league.
“Those field goals, if it would have been a closer game, would have made a big difference,” offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “We have done a good job in the red zone this year. Last week, (Powers) made the real good play when he jumped the one route. Julio (Jones) did a good job saving an interception, and we dropped a touchdown pass.”
The Cardinals’ defense certainly played a role. They entered the game giving up 17.7 points per game, which ranked second in the league.
“It was a little bit of everything,” Smith said. “They (either) made a good play and we didn’t execute like we needed to.”
On their opening possession, Matt Ryan tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Levine Toilolo on fourth down.
On their second possession, the Falcons received a break when Powers’ apparent interception was ruled an incomplete pass on third-and-goal at Arizona’s 2. They settled for Bryant’s 20-yard field goal.
With time running out, after Devin Hester’s dropped a pass in the end zone the Falcons had to kick a 23-yard field goal on third-and-4 at Arizona’s 5 to end the first half.
On their first possession of the second half, they drove down to Arizona’s 3-yard line when a pass for wide receiver Harry Douglas was incomplete on third-and-3. Bryant added his 21-yarder.
On their last trip into the red zone, running back Devonta Freeman was tackled for a 1-yard loss on third-and-3 at Arizona’s 8.
Toilolo at 6-foot-8 figures to be a tough matchup inside the red zone. However, the Falcons have rarely thrown his way as he has only two touchdown passes. His rash of drops earlier in the season may be a factor.
“That is an area we need to improve on moving forward,” Ryan said. “It’s good that we were down there five times, but we’ve got to be more opportunistic. …We just have to execute better across the board moving forward.”
Smith wants to see the team’s short-yardage offense improve, which could indirectly lead to improving the red-zone attack.
“The thing that stood out, not only in the red zone, but we had been 100 percent on third-and-1 when we run the football up until this point of the season,” Smith said. “We were not very good on third-and-1 running the football. That hurt us as well.”
The Falcons had three runs thwarted on third-and-1 plays against the Cardinals. Freeman was stopped once and Steven Jackson twice. For the two Jackson runs, the Falcons had tackle Gabe Carimi in as an extra blocker.
“When you get that third-and-1, you’ve got to convert those,” Smith said. “To be good in this league, you have to convert between 65 and 75 percent of the time.”
The Falcons are playing with a revamped offensive line and are dealing with players losing a battle or two on some of those failed plays in red zone and in short-yardage situations.
“At the point of the attack, it’s a negative-yardage play,” Smith said. “If it’s next to the point of attack, it’s probably an inefficient play. Sometimes you can get away with those one-offs if it’s away from the play.”
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