The bright lights of “Monday Night Football” return to Atlanta for the Falcons’ 43rd appearance on the once epic offering.
The Falcons (2-4) are set to face the New York Giants (1-5), in a showdown of struggling teams, at 8:15 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Falcons cannot afford another lapse heading into their bye week if they really plan to climb back into the NFC South and playoff race.
In each of the first three seasons under Falcons coach Dan Quinn, the team has lost the game before their bye week.
Last season, the Falcons loss to the Buffalo Bills 23-17 at home to drop to 3-1.
In 2016, the Falcons loss to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-15 to drop to 6-4.
In 2015, the Falcons loss to Blaine Gabbert and the San Francisco 49ers 17-16 to drop to 6-3.
They hope to break the cycle against the Giants.
» More: What Dan Quinn said about facing Giants
The Barkley rules
Elusive Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley is a problem of major proportions for the Falcons, who have missed more than 10 tackles in three of their games this season, including 16 last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Falcons have 64 missed tackles, the fifth most in the NFL, according to NFL Media.
“When you watch tape and you see someone with talent, who’s hard to tackle, as in previous weeks, we did an emphasis on tackling,” Falcons defensive tackle Jack Crawford said. “We are going to get better at that. We have to get better at that in order to stop him.”
Barkley has rushed 84 times for 438 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also caught 40 passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns.
"You know that they are going to give Saquon his touches," Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel said. "He's going to touch the ball. We are fools if we don't believe that."
The Falcons haven’t face a elite running back since they played the New Orleans Saints and Alvin Kamara, but Pittsburgh Steelers’ James Conner, their second-string running back, rushed for more than 100 yards and last week Tampa Bay’s Peyton Barber rushed for 82 yards and caught one touchdown pass.
» Also: What Giants coach Pat Shurmur says about facing Falcons
Manuel compared Barkley, a rookie from Penn State, with Marshall Faulk, who’s in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“He’s a great combination guy because he has great contact, balance, speed and vision,” Manuel said. “He can break loose and break arm tackles. ... Then you have to factor in that he can line up a wide receiver.”
The Falcons know that Barkley is a threat in the passing game, too.
“You don’t know when or where he’s coming from,” Crawford said. “That’s why all of 11 of us on defense are going to be running to the ball or wherever he’s at. We are going to try to put pressure on the quarterback and try and put pressure on the receivers and get to him.”
Crawford, who played for Dallas, used to face Giants quarterback Eli Manning twice a season and is not buying the talk that the two-time Super Bowl winner is washed up.
“To me he looks the same,” Crawford said. “He’s got elite qualities to him. But you have to be on you’re A-game against a quarterback who can play at that level.”
Three key matchups
Giants RT Chad Wheeler vs. Falcons DE Vic Beasley: Wheeler wasn't drafted out of USC, who's taken over for Ereck Flowers, the former first-round pick who since has been released. Beasley has one sack on the season and is overdue for a breakout game. Wheeler is 6-foot-7, 312 pounds. He gave up three sacks earlier this season to Houston's J.J. Watt.
Giants LB Alec Ogletree vs. Falcons RB Tevin Coleman: Ogletree, a former Georgia standout from Newnan, has 44 tackles in his first season with the Giants. After breaking loose for 107 yards in a win over Carolina on Sept. 16, Coleman has been stymied. He was held to 33, 51, 15 and 35 yards in the four subsequent games. Rookie Ito Smith also has been held in check, but has a rushing touchdown in each of the past three games.
Giants CB Janoris Jenkins vs. Falcons WR Julio Jones: Jenkins normally lines up on the right side, and most quarterbacks leave him alone. The one-time Pro Bowler has returned seven interceptions for touchdowns, including two last season. The Falcons power their offense through Jones, who has 44 catches (69 targets) for 708 yards.
QB corner with Matt Ryan
Here are three questions with Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan about the Giants:
On what he sees from the Giants' front: "They've got a good rotation. They use a lot of different fronts. ... They mix up three-down man packages. They do a lot of different things and shuffle in a bunch of different guys."
On how linebacker Alec Ogletree is playing for them: "Good. I think across the board, their record is what it is, but they've had a lot of tight games, too. Defensively, I think they've played pretty well. I think he's played well also."
On safety Landon Collins: "He's a ball-hawking guy who can make plays when the ball is in the air. He does a nice job coming down into the box. Within the scheme they ask him to do a lot of different things, play a lot of different parts of the field, and I think he does a nice job of that."
About the Giants
» The Falcons face a well-rested New York Giants team that’s coming off a mini-bye since they last played Oct. 11.
» After a win over the Houston Texans on Sept. 23, the Giants have dropped three consecutive games to the Saints (33-18), Panthers (33-31) and Eagles (34-13). They dropped their opener to Jacksonville (20-15) followed by a loss to Dallas (20-13).
» It will be the 24th regular-season meeting between the teams. The Falcons lead the series 12-11 and have won two of the past three meetings.
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