Atlanta Falcons: 3 Players that must shine vs. Panthers, Week 14

3. Running game outside of Freeman

Atlanta has relied on Devonta Freeman to lead the running game on the ground to counter the high-powered and potent passing game the Falcons possess. But while Freeman has been dealing with some injury issues over the past few weeks, the running attack has taken somewhat of a step back for the Falcons and has resulted in them being more one-dimensional than they ideally would like.

Although Freeman was able to return to the field for Atlanta in its Week 13 loss at home against New Orleans on Thanksgiving night, the running game wasn’t that stellar en route to the Falcons falling for the second straight contest.

Overall in the loss, Atlanta finished with 89 rushing yards on 26 carries, averaging just 3.4 yards per rush while failing to get into the endzone on the ground in the game against the Saints. Freeman led the way with 17 carries for 51 yards, averaging three yards per carry.

In order for this Falcons rushing attack to continue to help the offense and provide it with some balance moving forward for a remainder of the regular season, Atlanta is going to need another player within the offense — whether that’s backup running back Brian Hill or someone else — to help Freeman take the run game to the next level.