Atlanta Falcons: 3 Players that must shine vs. Eagles in Week 2

2. Devonta Freeman

Another player that will have to step up and shine during Atlanta’s Week 2 showdown against NFC opponent Philadelphia is Falcons dominant running back Devonta Freeman. To start the 2019 campaign, Freeman struggled quite a bit in the regular-season opener against the Vikings while kicking off his six professional seasons in the league.

In the Week 1 loss to Minnesota on the road last Sunday in Minneapolis, Freeman finished the game with just 19 total yards rushing on eight attempts. With a game-long run of five yards, Freeman averaged just 2.4 yards per run in the contest.

For Atlanta to return to form and to continue to be the high-powered offense that we have been accustomed to seeing it as over the course of the last few years, it will be important for Freeman to get back to having a large impact on the ground.

When Freeman is having success in the running game along with the rest of the running back group, that does nothing but help Matt Ryan and the passing game, as well as the offense as a whole, in opening things up and balancing things within the offense. That in return allows the passing game to provide its dominant presence that we all know it’s capable of.

After playing in just two games for Atlanta in 2018, Freeman is looking to get back to form and to get fully healthy once again so he can start performing like he did early on in his career, specifically when he went off for over 1,000 rushing yards during both the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

When Freeman is healthy and running the ball with authority within this Falcons offense, Atlanta can be a scary, scary team in the NFC and throughout the NFL.

There are a few players on the offensive side of the ball that will need to shine for the Falcons in their Week 2 matchup against the Eagles on Sunday, but one player in particular that will need to have a big game is Freeman and the rest of the running back corps.