Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds vs. Colts in Week 3

Stud: Devonta Freeman

The second stud performer in the contest for the Falcons was their starting running back Devonta Freeman. Freeman put together his best game of the 2019 campaign in the Week 3 matchup, finishing with a game- and season-high 88 yards on a total of 16 rushing attempts on the ground.

He didn’t manage to find his way into the end zone, but Matt Ryan and the rest of the Falcons offense was able to help out and pick up where Freeman left off within the flow of the offense to finish out drives throughout the game.

It has been somewhat of an up-and-down start to the season for Freeman, so seeing him have a bounce-back game against Indianapolis even with the game resulting in a loss is a positive sign for Atlanta.

Dud: Rest of Atlanta’s running game

Although Freeman did end up putting together a solid game for Atlanta, the running back was really the only bright spot for Atlanta in its running attack against Indianapolis. The second dud from the loss for the Falcons was the rest of the running back corps outside of Freeman and their lack in production to help out the starting running back in the midst of his stellar performance.

In the defeat, Atlanta recorded a total of 93 yards on 20 rushing attempts on the ground. Outside of Freeman, however, the Falcons combined to rush for five yards on five carries with no touchdowns.

In past weeks, Ito Smith and other contributing pieces have helped back up Freeman within the running game, but their absence was felt in the ground game on Sunday afternoon against the Colts. Smith managed to finish the game with just one carry and no yards for Atlanta.

Freeman did have a nice performance to pace the Falcons, but they are going to need others to step up and help out moving forward.