The Falcoholic
It is the first victory Monday of the season for the Atlanta Falcons. The defense dominated this game, helping carry the team to a win with assistance from the special teams unit. It wasn’t a pretty day for the offense, but they got the job done and improved in the run game. Here’s the Week 2 three up and three down.
Appreciate what you are seeing from number 7, because he is special. No one executes the dead leg move better than Bijan. He routinely turns blown-up runs into massive gains with his ability to set up second and third-level defenders. After having over 100 yards as a receiver, he put up 143 on the ground against the Brian Flores-orchestrated defense.
Last night, the team needed to lean on the run game, and Bijan (along with Tyler Allgeier) rose to the occasion. I doubt this will be the last time we see Mr. Robinson on this list.
It was impossible to select only one rookie performance from last night’s game, a problem we love having. The Falcons went all in on defense in the 2025 draft, and the returns have been eye-popping through two weeks. The Falcons are a top-5 defense statistically, and their rookie class is leading them. This buddy system approach to the secondary and pass rush rooms is yielding interceptions and sacks.
Jalon Walker blew by the left tackle with a mean swipe to record a big sack in the red zone. James Pearce Jr was at the scene of multiple sacks and gave the entire Vikings OL trouble. Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. both showed off their nose for the football. We love it when a plan comes together.
The special teams unit bounced back in a big way. After a missed game-tying field goal and uncharacteristic execution errors from the coverage squads, Marquice Williams’ group got back on track. Romo gave us a scare with his initial kick, but was a deadeye shot the rest of the game, finishing with an emphatic 54-yard make.
Mike Ford lived up to his special teams prowess, consistently making plays in the third phases of the game and even causing fumbles with his angelic voice. The offense struggled, but the defense and special teams groups stepped up big, and sometimes that’s how games play out, the best teams can win in more ways than 1.
It was a better day on the ground, but the third-year player is still costing his team in pass protection. The film is out there; you can easily fool Bergeron on stunts. We saw it against Tampa Bay, and it showed up last night, but Bergeron is getting overaggressive in his pass sets and latching on to defenders when he needs to be passing them off and picking up an incoming looper. However, it wasn’t just stunts; Bergeron had no answer for the...
