Atlanta Falcons: 3 Bold predictions for Week 7 vs. Lions

3. Falcons defense gets to Stafford early and often

When it comes to what makes the Detroit Lions offense tick, that starts and ends with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford and what he is able to do under center in Detroit.

Stafford has often shown the ability to hurt teams with the deep ball and airing things out in the passing game, which can put an opposing team in a tough situation at any point in a contest.

Stafford and the Lions will continue to try and do that in Week 7 against the Atlanta Falcons, especially given Atlanta’s struggles against the pass so far in 2020.

One way the Falcons can try and shut those efforts down is by putting pressure on Stafford and making him uncomfortable in the pocket or forced to turn to the running game out of the backfield. This Sunday, Atlanta’s defense will get to Stafford early and often to try and take him out of things and make the Lions offense one dimensional.

So far this season, Stafford hasn’t been quite as impressive in the passing game as we maybe have seen in years past, but he is still a dangerous threat under center leading the charge. One way of keeping him in check is putting that pressure on him and ultimately sacking or pressuring the veteran quarterback.

Going into Week 7, Stafford has been sacked a total of 12 times, which is the 11th-most in the NFL among starting quarterbacks. That should be something the Falcons look to continue and a mark they want to add to throughout the course of the game this Sunday.