Atlanta Falcons OL Has 'Much Better Intent' vs. Jaguars, but Sack Struggles Continue
The Atlanta Falcons' offensive line was one of the team's biggest bright spots in 2022, taking a big step forward after years of trouble.
But through the first four games of this season, Atlanta's front five has hardly resembled last year's impressive group.
For reference, the Falcons allowed the 12th-fewest sacks in the NFL last season with 37. They've already given up 16 this year, tied for fourth-most, and are on pace to allow 68, which would've led the league a year ago.
In the run game, Atlanta's taken a step back, even with first-round rookie running back Bijan Robinson emerging as one of the game's brightest young stars.
The Falcons still have the league's No. 11 rushing offense at 128 yards per game, but that's still a considerable regression from last year's No. 3 attack, which posted just under 160 yards per game on the ground.
Further, Falcons coach and play caller Arthur Smith has built his offense around the ability to run the ball - and the struggles to consistently move the chains on the ground has led to clear struggles, with the unit posting just 13 points in the last two games.
Perhaps most surprising about Atlanta's struggles up front is that four of five starters from last year returned, with the lone exception being left guard, as rookie second-round pick Matthew Bergeron has filled a spot that was largely a rotating door.
And so, theoretically, the Falcons' offensive line should be playing at a higher level than it has thus far. After all, there's been significant capital put into it by Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot.
In Mar. 2022, Atlanta signed left tackle Jake Matthews to a three-year, $55 million contract. This spring, right guard Chris Lindstrom (five years, $102 million) and right tackle Kaleb McGary (three years, $34.5 million) were rewarded with new contracts.
Toss in a top-40 draft selection used on Bergeron, and that leaves fourth-round center Drew Dalman as the lone starter not retained or acquired through a high-expense avenue.
And yet, struggles - but Smith saw progress in Atlanta's offensive line during Sunday's 23-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We made an investment up front, (and) regardless of the final score, I thought the O-line played with much better intent yesterday," Smith said.
Chris Lindstrom, Drew Dalman and Matthew Bergeron give the Falcons three athletic interior offensive linemen.
USA Today
Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder was sacked four times by Jacksonville's defense; he's now been sacked at least four times in all but one game, Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers.
Smith attributed the first two sacks to protection troubles, the third to an adjustment that wasn't made late in the play clock against cover zero (the plan was to get a running back in the flat but wasn't communicated due to the clock running down) and the last to Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen simply beating Matthews around the corner.
On the ground, Atlanta took 22 carries for 127 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per carry - Robinson had 14 for 105, spearheaded by a 38-yard pickup. He ripped a number of quality runs.
The same can't be said for Tyler Allgeier, who's in the midst of the worst two-game stretch of his career, numbers wise. Allgeier has received seven carries in each of the past two weeks and mustered only 12 and 16 yards, respectively.
So, is it the brilliance of Robinson or the misfortune of Allgeier with the Falcons' run blocking? The answer is likely somewhere in the middle, but regardless, the rushing attack hasn't been as physically dominant as it was throughout much of last season.
Still, Atlanta's offensive line left London with a few positives to build from.
Lindstrom was the Falcons' highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus (via The Falcoholic's Evan Birchfield), coming in at 89.4. Dalman (82.4) wasn't far behind in third, and McGary (69.4) came in as Atlanta's fifth-best offensive player.
Smith shared Monday that he thought it was Lindstrom's best game of the season, and the metrics support it.
Better yet, Smith believes the collective performance from the group was much improved from the week prior, when the Falcons allowed seven sacks and rushed for just 44 yards.
“I think overall the protection, I think we had some good pockets yesterday," Smith said. "I do, but the numbers are what they are. You can chop them up and say, ‘Ok, 11 in two games. It’s all on the O-line.’ That’s never the case in offensive football.
"So, you take them all differently, but acknowledge too that nobody wants to take that many sacks, but how they happen are all different.”
The final line, as Smith alluded to, is that the Falcons' offensive line simply can't continue on this pace. If it does, so will the team's results - beating lower- to mid-tier teams and falling considerably short against playoff-caliber opponents.
If Atlanta can re-gain its form on the ground, life becomes much easier for Ridder, and the upside of this unit skyrockets.
But that's quite the large "if" ... and is quickly becoming one of the most noteworthy storylines to monitor as the Falcons enter the season's second quarter.
