Breaking down Falcons Week 1 snap counts

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The Falcons kicked off the 2022 season in the most Falcons way ever, blowing a 16-point lead to the division rivals Saints. I’ve covered the ins and outs of the matchup in other articles, but in this one, I wanted to break down the snap counts from Atlanta’s Week 1 loss.

Stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.

Offense

Mariota and the five starting offensive linemen played every single snap, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Kyle Pitts had the next most snaps, which also shouldn’t be shocking. However, the production for the tight end phenom was lacking, including staying in and blocking more than expected. On the other hand, Drake London led the Falcons in receiving as well as snaps among the wideouts. Patterson assumed a bulk of the carries after Damien Williams went down with an injury early in the game. Avery Williams did get some interesting looks out of the backfield too. Falcons fans can expect the split going forward to be something similar to Week 1 if Williams is out an extended period.

Defense

The Falcons had a really encouraging showing from their defense, recording four sacks and holding a decently talented Saints offense in check for much of the game. Terrell and Walker, the latter of which wore the green dot as the defense’s signal caller, were on the field for every snap.

The Falcons also expectedly started Grant and Hawkins, who both had impressive outings. The one snap they weren’t on the field for was the long run from Taysom Hill that set up a touchdown run later on the drive. Marlowe and Harris subbed in, seemingly for heavier personnel, and the Falcons gave up a chunk play. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

As anticipated, Graham started and logged a sack. Carter notched half a sack, and Jarrett had 1.5 sacks in what had to be the best showing of pressuring the quarterback the Falcons have had in years. The bottom of the list is what stands out the most to me.

Dee Alford and Mike Ford split reps from the slot, while Dickerson and Horne saw a similar amount of reps along the defensive front. The Falcons rolled with a trio of Dickerson, Horne, and Bell late in the game up two scores. The Saints proceeded to drive the field and score a touchdown in just four plays. The Falcons have to add more depth to the defensive line because it was a horrid effort from those reserve players.

Special Teams

  • Mike Ford: 25
  • Quinton Bell: 25
  • Dean Marlowe: 25
  • Erik Harris: 25
  • Troy Andersen: 25
  • Keith Smith: 21
  • KhaDarel Hodge: 20
  • Bradley Pinion: 17
  • Avery Williams: 16
  • Parker Hesse: 13
  • Nathan Landman: 12
  • Darren Hall: 11
  • Liam McCullough: 11
  • Richie Grant: 9
  • Adetokunbo Ogundeji: 8
  • Kaleb McGary: 7
  • Chris Lindstrom: 7
  • Colby Gossett: 7
  • Elijah Wilkinson: 7
  • Jake Matthews: 7
  • Younghoe Koo: 7
  • Germain Ifedi: 7
  • Matt Hennessy: 7
  • Arnold Ebiketie: 6
  • Lorenzo Carter: 5
  • Cordarrelle Patterson: 5
  • Jaylinn Hawkins: 4
  • Timothy Horne: 4
  • Matt Dickerson: 4
  • Ta’Quon Graham: 3
  • Olamide Zaccheaus: 1

The only notable thing here is Troy Andersen’s status in the third phase of the game. The Falcons did this with Richie Grant last season, and they’re approaching this season in a similar fashion. Grant played mainly a special teams role his rookie season, and Andersen’s rookie year will be exactly the same unless injuries arise.

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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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