The Falcons invested heavily in their pass rush this offseason. Not only did the club bolster the line of scrimmage, but they also added playmakers on the backend to give their rushers more time to get to the quarterback. It hasn’t exactly netted the tangible improvement many had hoped.
Atlanta ranks tied for last with the Giants with five sacks on the season, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. There are only three defenses that pressure opposing quarterbacks at a higher rate than Ryan Nielsen’s defense.
The Falcons are pressuring — knockdowns, quarterback hits, and sacks — signal callers 28.2% of the time they drop back; that ranks fourth in the league. They’re getting after the quarterback. The knockdowns and hits just haven’t materialized into sacks… yet.
Atlanta has a prime opportunity to rack up sacks in Week 6 as the Commanders come to town because Sam Howell is taking sacks like no other quarterback has.
The Bears’ anemic pass rush sacked him five times on Thursday Night Football, bringing Howell’s sack total to 29 through five games. No other quarterback is even close either; Daniel Jones has been sacked 22 times.
Over a 17-game season, Howell’s current pace would be 99 sacks, which would shatter the NFL record set by David Carr and the Texans in 2002 when he was brought down 76 times.
At this point, if Howell doesn’t break the all-time sacked record, it would be because of injury. It’s a major problem facing Howell and the Commanders, and one the Falcons should absolutely be able to take advantage of.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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