Atlanta Falcons: Positives and negatives from 2020 season
Positive: Offense continues to be one of the best in the NFL
One positive that Atlanta can take away from the 2020 season was the fact that this team once again fielded one of the top offenses in the NFL and continues to include a ton of firepower on that side of the ball.
Although the overall record didn’t reflect that impressive of a performance, the Falcons offense did enough during games on a weekly basis to put the team in positions to win more games than it did during the 16-game slate. Unfortunately, the defense and second-half performances in games resulted in Atlanta coming out on the losing end more often than not in 2020.
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When it comes to the offense, the Falcons have one of the more impressive units in the league on that side of the field, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and a talented receiving group led by wide receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley on the outside of the field.
As a unit, Atlanta ranked near the top of the NFL in multiple offensive categories, averaging 368.4 total yards per game along with 24.8 points per contest. In the passing attack, the Falcons threw the ball 628 times (fourth-most in NFL) for a total of 4,620 yards (fifth-most in NFL) and 27 touchdowns.
Although Jones wasn’t able to take the field that often this year due to dealing with multiple injuries. issues that held him out of games, Ridley emerged as the top target on offense and helped lead the way as the No. 1 wideout in Jones’ absence.
Ridley put together a dominant season in the receiving game, finishing the year with 90 catches for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns. He ranked tied for 11th in receptions and tied for fifth in receiving yards among wideouts in the league.
If the majority of the offense returns yet again in 2021, Atlanta will once again include a high-powered offense that will rank near the top in the NFL. And if the Falcons can balance that talented passing game with a decent running attack, this group will only improve from here.