1. Problems up front: The Falcons' offensive line was pretty good against New Orleans in Week 1. Not Sunday. Losing starting tackle Jake Matthews (ankle), after already having lost starter Sam Baker in the preseason, was too much. Matt Ryan was sacked only two times but he was forced out of the pocket on several occasions and rushed on throws. Ryan was only 24 of 44 and threw three interceptions. The Falcons also couldn't mount a rushing attack. Consequently, the offense that went for 37 points and 568 yards against the Saints fell to 10 points and 309 yards against Cincinnati (98 in the first half). If Matthews' ankle injury is significant enough to lose more games, the offense is going to have issues.
2. No A.J. Green, no problem: So you think this game was a rout? Imagine how bad it would have been if Cincinnati didn't lose five starters during the game, including wide receiver A.J. Green on the opening series. Even without Green, the team's best player, quarterback Andy Dalton threw for 252 yards (145 in the first half on only nine completions) and receiver Mohamed Sanu completed a 50-yarder to Brandon Tate on a flea-flicker. Cincinnati had more than 400 yards in offense with six minutes left in the third quarter. If not for shutting it down, they might've surpassed 600.
3. Pass rush, where art thou: The defense couldn't pressure Saints quarterback Drew Brees last week but it didn't matter because the Falcons could score. This week, it mattered. The defense rarely pressured Dalton. Actually, I can't remember the last time he was even touched by a pass rusher. Dalton was not sacked, which means the Falcons have zero sacks in two games. This is a problem that's not likely to go away. The Falcons have no pure pass rushers. And on that subject: Has anybody seen Osi Umenyiora?
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