Still Curtain
FanSided

Pittsburgh Steelers Meet the Opponent: Atlanta Falcons

By Donnie Druin

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 14: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs after a catch in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on December 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 14: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs after a catch in the second half against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome on December 14, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 23: Vic Beasley Jr. #44 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts to a sack during the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 23, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 23: Vic Beasley Jr. #44 of the Atlanta Falcons reacts to a sack during the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 23, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /

Defense

Total Defense: 403 ypg (29th)
Pass Defense: 284 ypg (25th)
Rush Defense: 119 ypg (26th)
Points Per Game: 30.5 ppg (30th)

Incredible weapons on offense with a scary (not in the good way), where have Pittsburgh fans seen that before? In all seriousness, Atlanta’s defense ranks near the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category. This can be attributed to the large amount of injuries suffered on the defensive side of the ball, as the following are just a few of the names on Atlanta’s injury report.

Atlanta’s secondary is anchored by cornerback Desmond Trufant, with Robert Alford starting opposite of him in a defensive backfield that allows a 70.6% of completions to opposing quarterbacks. Safeties Keith Tandy and Damontae Kazee complete the starting secondary after Atlanta lost both of their starters (Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen) to season-ending injuries. Kazee remains the only active player to record an interception on the team heading into week five.

While the Falcons secondary is nothing to write home about, the Falcons do have some bright spots in their front-seven. Vic Beasley remains one of the top pass-rushers in the league as the team’s right defensive end, while Takk McKinley finds himself tied for second for recorded sacks (5.0) thus far. With defensive tackle Grady Jerrett out, the Falcons will look to rely on Jack Crawford and Terrell McClain to step in his place.

At linebacker, you can find the team’s leading tackler in Duke Riley. Riley plays alongside De’Vondre Campbell and Brian Poole to complete the team’s 4-3 defensive front. The trio of linebackers actually rank as the team’s first, second and third ranked tacklers, respectively.

Marquand Manuel is currently serving year number two as the team’s defensive coordinator, and much like Pittsburgh’s Keith Butler, fans are not fond of their defensive coordinator. It’s hard to find a nice thing said about Manuel’s defense on social media, and with injuries/flat performances, understandably so. Atlanta is allowing 5 yards per rush with 6 touchdowns on the year, good for second to last in the league, right behind the Arizona Cardinals.

Given the current state of the defense, it’s hard to solidify expectations going into Sunday’s game. What Steelers fans can expect is a consistent pass-rush from Beasley/McKinley, match-ups Falcons fans can look forward to watching on an otherwise bland defense. The green-light appears to be on for Big Ben and company.

Home/Steelers News