Atlanta Falcons: Studs and duds from Week 16 vs. Chiefs
Stud: Ito Smith leading the ground game again
For the last few weeks, Falcons running back Ito Smith has done a nice job in pacing the ground game for Atlanta. He did that once again in Week 16 on the road in Kansas City. For the most part, the Falcons running game has been one of the worst units in the NFL and they didn’t necessarily step up and shine in the contest against the defending Super Bowl Champions on Sunday afternoon.
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But among a group that has struggled, it was at least a positive to see Smith try and take things over and lead the way for the rushing attack yet another week. In the contest, Smith finished with a team-best 10 carries for 46 yards, tallying a game-long rush of 14 yards.
The Falcons still need to work on improving the ground game going into 2021, but Smith might continue being a big part of that moving forward.
Dud: Protecting Matt Ryan under center
Another dud that appeared in the game for the Falcons was the inability to protect quarterback Matt Ryan to allow him and the rest of the offense to operate and try and grab a lead in the game that was left wide open by the Chiefs.
Ryan wasn’t really able to do much throughout the course of the game due to the pressure he was under and the protection that was lacking on the side of Atlanta’s offensive line. In the game, the veteran quarterback managed to convert on 27 of his overall 35 pass attempts, totaling 300 yards through the air with two touchdowns. Along with that, Ryan was also sacked a total of four times for 23 combined yards.
One of the reasons Atlanta wasn’t able to take advantage of extra opportunities Kansas City presented in Week 16 was because of the lack of being able to protect its veteran quarterback while he was trying to lead the offense.