Donavan Ellison Coaching Operations Assistant | Atlanta Falcons Website
Donavan Ellison Coaching Operations Assistant | Atlanta Falcons Website
The Atlanta Falcons faced a tough challenge in their Sunday night game against the Kansas City Chiefs, culminating in a 22-17 loss. The final offensive plays highlighted the struggles of the Falcons' run game throughout the match.
With just over a minute left on the clock and needing one yard for a first down, Kirk Cousins handed off to Tyler Allgeier, who was stopped inches short. On 4th-and-inches from the Kansas City 13-yard line, Bijan Robinson was tackled for a three-yard loss by Nick Bolton, allowing the Chiefs to take control and run out the clock.
Head coach Raheem Morris expressed his disappointment: "We thought we would have more success running the ball against them." This expectation was based on their previous performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, where they had surpassed 100 rushing yards before halftime.
Despite their optimism, the Falcons managed only 82 rushing yards in total against Kansas City. Notably, Ray-Ray McCloud contributed 20 of those yards on a jet sweep. Robinson averaged just 1.9 yards per carry with his longest run being seven yards. Combined with Allgeier, they totaled only 63 rushing yards.
Since 2019, Atlanta has rushed for 82 or fewer yards in a game 28 times and lost all but six of those games. The absence of starting right tackle Kaleb McGary and center Drew Dalman for half of this game due to injuries did not help matters.
Robinson noted that running against eight-man boxes was common: "They made us fight for everything we had to get." Jake Matthews praised the Chiefs' defense: "They did a really good job mixing up their looks... They are a really good defense for a reason."
Morris acknowledged that credit should be given to Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo: "You have to give (Spagnuolo) a lot of credit... able to force the issue."
Robinson added that pressure seemed constant: "They brought pressure in what seemed like every play."
For future success, Matthews emphasized improvement is necessary: "We gotta fix it. We gotta find a way to make plays there."
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