As the New Orleans Saints host the Atlanta Falcons for their Monday Night Football game, Atlanta will provide a specific challenge to the Saints’ passing game, which has been the lifeblood of the New Orleans offense to start the season.
The Saints have generated nearly three-quarters of their offense through the air so far this season. That rate sits more than 10% above the Super Bowl-era average and slightly above the NFL average since 2012.
It’s the most reliable way New Orleans has moved the football thus far.
The results have been of the typical high variance for heavy-passing offenses. The Saints rank No. 11 in scoring offense, No. 8 in total yards gained, but also have committed seven turnovers and allowed 10 sacks. Both metrics rank second highest in the league.
While the Falcons haven’t generated takeaways at a high clip this season (only two through the first three contests), they have been a team that has consistently pressured the quarterback.
Falcons Present Pressure Challenge
Per Pro Football Focus, the Falcons rank No. 1 in the NFL in defensive pressure rate. Next Gen Stats has the defense ranked No. 3. Many analytics sites have differing criteria for what constitutes pressure, but regardless of the methodology, Atlanta ranks near the top of the NFL.
Those pressures haven’t turned into a long list of takeaways, nor has it resulted in a swell in sacks. The Falcons have only five for the season. However, pressures can still disrupt an offense’s timing, rush decision-making and create inefficiencies that make it a challenge for an offense to operate.
Quarterback Tyler Shough and his skill position players, headlined by wide receiver Chris Olave, will have to be on the same page Monday night in order to counteract the impact of the Falcons’ pass rush, which is mostly executed with the front four. The Falcons have blitzed on less than 20% of their defensive snaps this season.
Falcons’ Biggest Weakness
No team has been thrown against more, and allowed more receiving yards to opposing wideouts, than the Falcons. But keeping pressure at bay by getting the ball out quickly may be the most important factor in maximizing the opportunity that should be there for Shough and his wideouts.
Atlanta is also one of only five NFL clubs to allow more than 150 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns to tight ends through the first trio of games.
That means more big days could be on the way for Saints tight ends Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant.
The Falcons are a heavy man-coverage team, not in that they deploy the coverage scheme more than zone, but simply because they run man looks at a higher rate than most NFL teams.
Next Gen Stats has the Falcons’ defense charted with 30.1% of their defensive snaps in man coverage, No. 8 in the NFL.
Shough has been particularly effective against this overall coverage scheme, especially when attacking it in the red zone.
Atlanta will have some vulnerabilities, but how the Saints’ offense manages the pressure from the Falcons’ defense will dictate whether or not the team can attack them effectively.
