The Falcoholic
The Atlanta Falcons came ready to play out of their bye week, and while the offense stumbled in the second half, the defense never faltered. It’s hard to pick one defender, but we all know who’s representing the offense this week.
Here’s the Week 6 3 up and 3 down.
The third-year player has come into form and is a force of nature. Harrison plays all over the defensive line and impacts the game in both the run and pass. Monday night, he applied pressure on both of Josh Allen’s interceptions. The game-clincher was a culture-defining effort: Harrison, after being knocked down, got up and closed the gap on Allen, which led to a deflection and turnover. Harrison has flashed in prior years, but he’s finally getting enough snaps to make a larger impact, and it is paying off. We’re seeing the same thing happen with the young lineman playing beside him.
The mastermind behind one of the best defenses in the NFL deserves all the praise he’s receiving. Ulbrich has gotten production from every level of depth on this roster and has taken Raheem Morris’ defense and molded it into his image. The Falcons zone-heavy coverage scheme has been paired with an aggressive blitzing front, and that formula is leading to one of the best passing defenses Falcons fans have seen in a long time.
The Falcons lead the league in blitz rate coming into the game, and many wondered if that trend would continue against Josh Allen, who teams rarely blitz. Not only did it continue, but it was the highest blitz rate Allen had seen since 2021. This staff is coaching like one of the best in the league, and their players are fully committed to the cause and leaving it all on the field.
He’s the best weapon in football, and the numbers back it up. The Falcons offense runs through Bijan, who has lived up to his generational hype all season and just posted a 238-yard performance on Monday Night Football. His 81-yard touchdown even had LeBron James gushing—Robinson has officially hit superstar status. It feels like history has repeated itself, and the Falcons have the perfect running back to pair with a developing quarterback.
But it’s not just Michael Penix; Bijan makes life easier for everyone. He creates opportunities for himself and rarely misses ones created for him by his line. He is on pace to be the best running back in the team’s history by the time his rookie contract ends. This is a once-in-a-lifetime player we are lucky to call a Falcon.
According to PFF’s grading system, Bijan Robinson was the 10th-best offensive player last night across both teams, and A.J. Terrell was the second-worst-performing cornerback in the game. Look, PFF offers legitimate advanced stats that help give more insight than volume stats ever could, but it’s time to stop sharing PFF grades as...
