How Does The Atlanta Falcons' Secondary Match Up Against The Chicago Bears Receivers?
After a devastating 40-39 loss against the Dallas Cowboys, it’s evident that the Atlanta Falcons still have problems they need to fix.
In week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks it was the secondary, and fast forward to a week later and it’s the same recurring issue.
This week, the Falcons face the Chicago Bears, a team with not many playmakers on offense, but still should be a threat to watch out for.
How The Falcons Should Match Up
Their receiving core has been up and down this season, just like the Falcons secondary. It’s possibly a toss-up on who has the advantage here, but this is what the matchups should look like heading into this matchup.
A.J. Terrell – Allen Robinson
Isaiah Oliver – Darnell Mooney
Darqueze Dennard – Anthony Miller
The matchup to watch out for will be Terrell and Robinson. Terrell has looked like the best cornerback for the Falcons in the first two weeks as quarterbacks have not thrown his way much. In the Cowboys game, he was only targeted three times and allowed two receptions for seven yards, which made him the highest graded Falcons defender by Pro Football Focus.
Robinson is by far the Bears best receiver, and he’ll also be on a mission trying to get a big pay day from Chicago.
Oliver has struggled mightily to start the season, and it’s been in crucial times of the game where he shows his deficiencies. During the Cowboys comeback, Oliver was beat on a third down play by rookie CeeDee Lamb and was taken advantage of by the other Cowboys’ receivers.
He should be matched up with another rookie this week, Darnell Mooney, who has shown some positive signs for the Bears as an outside receiver through the first two games of the season.
Dennard has had numerous chances to make plays during the start of the season, but has not been able to capitalize. Miller has been the same way, as he wasn’t able to bring in any of the receptions thrown to him last week against the New York Giants. With both struggling to find a groove , this may turn out to be a good battle of who can make a play.
As I said earlier, it’s hard to predict who truly has the advantage in this matchup. If Terrell is able to contain Robinson, and Oliver and Dennard bounce back in Week 3, this should be a matchup the Falcons can win.
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