Atlanta Falcons: Top performers vs Bears in Week 1
By Derek Snyder
The Atlanta Falcons were able to knock off the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon. Take a look at the Dirty Bird’s top performers from the game.
If nothing, else the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears played one heck of an entertaining football game on Sunday afternoon. I’ll be honest, I thought the Falcons would win by much more than six points, but Mike Glennon almost pulled off a heroic fourth-quarter drive to win the game in the closing minutes.
For the Falcons, it truly was the team’s un-sung heroes that ended up finding a way to close out the football game. Whether it was Austin Hooper’s 88-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter or Brooks Reed’s sack on fourth-and-goal with there seconds left – Atlanta was lucky to have players like these come through in the clutch.
That being said, take a look at the Falcons’ top performers against the Bears, according to Pro Football Focus‘ Refocused Recap:
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- De’Vondre Campbell (Linebacker): 86.6 overall grade
- Alex Mack (Center): 86.5 overall grade
- Ryan Schraeder (Tackle): 85.8 overall grade
- Brian Poole (Cornerback): 82.3 overall grade
- Austin Hooper (Tight-End): 81.3 overall grade
What I love the most about going back and checking out Pro Football Focus grades for each game is that they truly take every detail into consideration.
The Falcons offensive line struggled on Sunday afternoon, but it’s become clear that Alex Mack and Ryan Schraeder weren’t a part of the problem. Wes Schweizter was actually given a 30.8 overall grade by PFF, which was the lowest on the Falcons. Needless to say, he must pick his game up before the Packers some to town on Sunday Night Football.
That being said, the one player that I was extremely impressed by all game was second-year linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. Not only did he earn PFF‘s “Game Ball” for his performance against the Bears, but he was one of the only Falcons who could consistently take down Tarik Cohen.
Next: NFL Power Rankings 2017: Week 2
Not to mention, he looked much better than Falcons’ rookie outside linebacker Duke Riley.
If Dan Quinn starts getting performances like this from Campbell moving forward, this Atlanta defense could make leaps and bounds in 2017.