The Falcons returned to the scene of their Super Bowl 51 loss on Sunday and things couldn’t have gone much worse. They led the Houston Texans at halftime but would end up losing, 53-32, and now sit at 1-4 on the season.
Here are four takeaways from Atlanta’s Week 5 loss in Houston.
Defense got zero sacks for second straight week
Deshaun Watson is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but his one weakness may be his tendency to hold the ball too long. That wouldn’t matter on Sunday, though, as the Falcons gave him all day to throw and failed to record a sack for the second straight week. Watson would light up Atlanta’s defense for 426 passing yards, 5 touchdowns and a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3. Remember way back in September when we thought the Falcons’ secondary was good? Well, its not.
Will Fuller was the best WR on the field Sunday
Will Fuller had more yards than both Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins combined. He’d finish with 14 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Hopkins had seven catches for 88 yards and Jones was held to just three catches for 42 yards. The Falcons clearly underestimated Fuller’s ability, leaving him wide open multiple times. This team is severely missing strong safety Keanu Neal.
Ito Smith should be team’s No. 1 RB
Ito Smith continues to be the Falcons’ most effective running back. He may have finished with less yards than Devonta Freeman, but always seems to find more room. Freeman had 11 carries for 30 yards, which is good for just 2.7 yards per carry. He is still a valuable weapon and tacked on 40 receiving yards and a score on Sunday. However, it may be time to let Smith take over the lead back role in this Falcons offense with the season already pretty much over.
What happens now?
The Falcons needed this win to keep their season alive, but they failed and now will more than likely miss the playoffs. Dan Quinn’s defense was embarrassed all day. Even though his team showed fight and never gave up, four losses in the team’s first five games makes Quinn’s seat even hotter than it already was. Will the team tank going forward? Will Quinn finally get fired? We will find out.
