Falcons linebackers Joplo Bartu and Paul Worrilow, after the defense gave up 179 yards rushing Monday against Green Bay, will be on the hot seat against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Falcons’ run defense has been sketchy all season. But the team thought it turned the corner after holding Arizona to 35 yards rushing the week before facing Green Bay.
“We’ve got to tackle better, and we’ve got to leverage the football,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It’s just not the physical part of the tackling. It’s the leveraging the short passes.”
But in part because the defensive ends/outside linebackers were not able to force stretch plays back inside, Bartu and Worrilow have had a long way to run to reach ball carriers.
Worrilow leads the Falcons with 116 tackles, and Bartu has 69, which ranks third on the team, according to the coaches’ stats. He was credited with four missed tackles against the Packers.
Also, rookie Prince Shembo, who played 34 percent of the snaps against the Packers, has 46 tackles.
The Steelers have averaged 113.9 yards rushing per game, which ranks ninth in the NFL. The Falcons have given up 122.9 yards per game, which ranks 22nd.
Worrilow has played 917 snaps and has 50 stops, according to Pro Football Focus. A stop is a solo tackle that results in an offensive failure. That’s a stop every 18.34 plays.
Bartu has played 425 snaps and has 20 stops for a stop ratio of 21.25 snaps. Shembo has played 283 snaps and has 16 stops for a stop ratio of 17.68.
“We have to gang tackle,” defensive tackle Paul Soliai said. “That’s the main thing.”
