Falcons 2022 record: 3-4 (T-1st in NFC South)
Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Location: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, OH)
Final Score: Bengals 35 – Falcons 17
Notable Falcons Performances:
RB Tyler Allgeier – 16 carries for 50 YDS, 1 TD
LB Rashaan Evans – 13 tackles
S Jaylinn Hawkins – 11 tackles, 1 pass defense
DT Grady Jarrett – 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 pass defense, 3 QB hits
Notable Bengals Performances:
QB Joe Burrow – 34/42 (81%) for 481 YDS, 3 carries for 20 YDS, 4 total TDS
WR Tyler Boyd – 8 REC for 155 YDS, 1 TD
WR Ja’Maar Chase – 8 REC for 130 YDS, 2 TD
WR Tee Higgins – 5 REC for 93 YDS
Next Opponent Preview:
Sunday, October 30 – vs. Carolina Panthers (12 pm CDT on FOX; Listen locally WTGZ Tiger 95.9 FM)
Carolina Panthers 2022 record: 2-5
Previous Opponent: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (W, 21-3)
Series History: Atlanta leads series 34-20
Takeaways:
Let’s just say, when you have as depleted of a defensive back room as the Falcons do against the best wide receiver core in the league, things won’t go well. And they most definitely did not. The Falcons pass defense allowed a whopping 481 passing yards to Joe Burrow and company. Although the defense did get back to Burrow for three sacks, there wasn’t enough consistent pressure to make Burrow feel uncomfortable. Atlanta’s star corner AJ Terrell went down early in the game, still hampered by that hamstring, and was ruled out for the rest of the game making it even more difficult for the Falcons to cover the Bengals’ talented wide receivers. The offense ran the ball well, but when they got down 21-0 in the blink of an eye it was hard to do that consistently throughout the game. It’s situations like these where you have to question if Arthur Smith has real faith in Marcus Mariota’s arm, as he only threw the ball 13 times and only completed 8 passes through the ENTIRE game and there was no sight of Kyle Pitts and Drake London being used in the offense. Up next, the Falcons head back home for a divisional matchup against the Carolina Panthers who didn’t allow a touchdown to Tom Brady this past Sunday. The Falcons are favored, but it won’t just be an easy win.
