Look at the NFL statistical rankings, and it appears the Falcons’ offense is humming.
The Falcons rank first in yards per play and third in yards per game. They are tied for first in touchdown percentage in the red zone. The Falcons have faced third-and-short nine times and converted all but one.
But those numbers hide what’s been the biggest problem lately for the Falcons, who have scored only three touchdowns in their past nine quarters: They’ve been inefficient on first down in their past two losses, and it’s made it difficult for them to sustain any offensive momentum.
The Falcons (2-4) have averaged 6.1 yards on first-and-10 plays for the season, good for 10th in the NFL. The Falcons consider a gain of four or more yards on first down to be a “win,” offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said.
“Anything less than that, you are behind the chains,” Koetter said. “The last two weeks, in both the Giants and Bears game, we have fallen backwards in that area. We were one of the better teams in the NFL in first-down efficiency, and we’ve dropped back the last two weeks.”
Against the Giants and Bears, the Falcons gained three yards or less on 23 of 49 first-and-10 plays.
Obviously efficiency on any down is important, and the Falcons lead the league in that category. Scoring touchdowns in the red zone is vital, and the Falcons are great with that, too. The same goes for converting on third down; the Falcons rank 10th in the league.
But the best way to keep drives going is to avoid third downs in the first place or at least make them manageable distances.
“We are getting too far behind the chains,” Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said. “I feel like right now we are pressing. Everybody is just trying to make a play that’s going to win the game but we’re not making any plays.”
The Falcons, in fact, have had too many first-and-10 plays that went the other way. Penalties have led to eight first-down plays with more than 10 yards to go, the most in the league.
The Falcons’ first drive of the third quarter against the Giants started with a false-start penalty against Gabe Carimi. A holding call against White resulted in a first-and-19. Another holding call against Jake Matthews made it first-and-29.
The Falcons still managed to finish the drive with Antone Smith’s 41-yard catch-and-run touchdown. But in the long run it’s difficult for an offense to get back on schedule once its behind.
“In the truest sense, you get about 12 possessions a game, and you want to stay ahead of the chains and you want to convert on first and second down or get into third-and-mediums (two to five yards),” Koetter said.
“We had five third-and-10s or more (against the Giants), and odds say you are looking at about 15 percent you are going to convert them.”
The Falcons have the most room for improvement with running the ball on first down. They’ve gained 4.58 yards per rush on first-and-10 (ranked 13th in the NFL) and 7.29 yards per pass (second).
Koetter said the goal to be efficient doesn’t mean shying away from trying long pass plays because the offense still wants to be explosive. He said that sometimes means there is no check-down receiver for quarterback Matt Ryan, in which case the Falcons have to live with no gains on incomplete passes.
The Falcons tried to throw down field against the Giants but were stymied by dropped passes and deteriorating protection for Ryan. Eventually Koetter abandoned the running game as the Falcons couldn’t do it efficiently and fell behind by two touchdowns.
For an offense with big numbers, the Falcons seem to have a lot of problems to fix. Koetter said they have the talent to do it.
“Listen, I’ve got to total confidence in our players,” Koetter said. “We’ve got to put them in good positions. If they are in good positions, then it’s their jobs to make the plays. I know they are all trying to do that.”
About the Author
