The Atlanta Falcons were able to earn their first victory of 2017 by beating the Bears in Week 1, largely thanks to two, solid offensive lineman.
The Atlanta Falcons earned their first first win of the 2017 season on Sunday afternoon by holding off the Chicago Bears 23-17. For most NFL fans, the close final score was a bit of a surprise since the Bears were arguably the worst team in football last season. However, Chicago’s dominance on both lines of scrimmage gave Atlanta all they could handle last weekend.
I’ll be honest, I was a bit frustrated with the Falcons offensive line throughout Sunday afternoon, but after reviewing the game, they actually performed fairly well. Well, except for Wes Schweitzer and Jake Matthews.
That said, Pro Football Focus actually had two Atlanta offensive lineman that made it onto their Week 1 “Team of the Week”. Take a look at the PFF’s best center and right tackle for the first weekend of NFL action, starting with the former:
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"Alex MackPFF Grade: 86.5Elite Stat: Mack allowed one hurry and no other pressure on 33 pass blocking snaps.Mack had an impressive day against a formidable Chicago interior, allowing just a single pressure, but also run blocking well in the middle of the Falcons rushing attack. The struggles that Atlanta had running the ball weren’t down to any struggles from Mack."
And now the best right tackle:
"Ryan SchraederPFF Grade: 85.9Elite Stat: Schraeder didn’t allow a single pressure across his 33 pass blocking snaps.Schraeder’s run blocking wasn’t stellar in this game, but his pass blocking was, and he kept Matt Ryan entirely clean throughout the game, with his assignment failing to generate so much as a single hurry."
For die-hard Falcons fans, this should ease your frustrations with the team’s offensive line play from Sunday afternoon. We all expected the Dirty Birds’ Week 1 matchup to be a complete blowout, but the Bears’ defensive line was able to close the gaps and get pressure on Matt Ryan all game long.
Needless to say, that’s not something we saw very much of from this team’s Super Bowl run in 2016.
That said, Pro Football Focus is pretty darn clear that the Falcons’offensive line struggles on Sunday weren’t a result of Mack or Schraeder. Yes, there are three other guys that contribute to the O-line, but at least we can take comfort in the fact Atlanta has some legit, elite talent protecting Ryan again in 2017.
Next: 3 Bold predictions for Falcons vs Packers
If the Falcons want to improve their record to 2-0 by beating Green Bay this weekend, the offensive line, as a whole, must play one of their best games of the season.