The Falcons lost their Week 1 matchup against the Seahawks by a score of 38-25 on Sunday, falling to 0-1 on the season. Here’s a quick look at the major takeaways on offense, defense and special teams.
Offense
The Falcons definitely ran the ball better with free-agent RB Todd Gurley than they did for most of last season. Gurley finished his Atlanta debut with 14 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown.
The problem was most of his production came in the first half and we saw the same one-dimensional Falcons offense in the second half. Overall, the team still struggled to finish drives and went 0-4 on fourth-down attempts.
Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Calvin Ridley finished with nine catches, 130 yards and two touchdowns. Julio Jones went for 9 catches and 157 receiving yards.
It was too little, too late again for the Falcons’ offense on Sunday. Sound familiar?
Defense
The Falcons got pretty good defensive pressure early, sacking Russell Wilson three times in the first half of Sunday’s game. Dante Fowler, Takk McKinley and Grady Jarrett each got in on the action, but the defense gave up too many big plays to capitalize.
Rookie corner A.J. Terrell held his own for the most part in the first half, but both he and third-year CB Isaiah Oliver got burned by the Seahawks receivers in the second half. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett both went over 90 receiving yards.
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson went 31-of-35, for 322 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. It was not a good start for Dan Quinn’s defense.
Special Teams
Kicker Youghoe Koo was solid for the most part, going 2-for-2 on field goals and missing an extra point.
The team tried a fake punt midway through the third quarter and came up just short. That failed attempt helped the Seahawks score a quick touchdown. While it was a gutsy call, it ultimately hurt the team and seemed to be the turning point in the game.
Rookie punter Sterling Hofrichter looked comfortable in his first NFL action of any kind. He averaged 50 yards per punt with a long of 55 yards on his two attempts.
