The Falcons must get their rushing attack moving before defenses stop honoring their play-action fakes.
“Our run game has got to come alive,” coach Dan Quinn said.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is using play-action at one of the highest rates in the NFL, but the Falcons don’t have the rushing attack to support the fakes.
The Falcons are averaging 80.1 rushing yards per game, which is 22nd in the league. The Falcons are averaging 2.8 yards per carry and likely will be without running back Tevin Coleman (rib injury) against Dallas.
“I think, offensively, the run game and the keepers that go along with it,” Quinn said was an area of improvement.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is near the top of the NFL in completing passes off play-action fakes.
Ryan is 11-of-16 in passes off of play action, joining San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick (17), San Diego’s Philip Rivers (17), Baltimore’s Joe Flacco (14), Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater (12) and Oakland’s Derek Carr (11) among the NFL leaders in that category.
Ryan also has 213 passing yards on those 11 completions from the play action fake, which is third in the NFL, behind Kaepernick (253 yards) and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger (233).
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