Who has the upper hand between the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos?
The Denver Broncos will take a trip to play the Atlanta Falcons this fall to kick off the second half of their schedule. After disappointing starts to their 2019 campaigns, both teams recovered to finish 7-9.
Broncos General Manager John Elway brought in Joe Flacco to be a stopgap until Drew Lock was ready to take over. However, head coach Vic Fangio had to abandon the experiment after eight games because Flacco was so bad. Lock finally got his chance late in the season and he went 4-1 as a starter. It wasn’t always pretty but he showed major sings improvement from his awful showing in the preseason.
Lock was able to develop a nice connection with pro bowl wide receiver Courtland Sutton who had a coming-out party last season. The second-year receiver finished the year with 1,112 yards and six touchdowns. After being the first undrafted offensive rookie to make the pro bowl in 2018, running back Phillip Lindsay followed up in 2019 with 1,011 yards and seven touchdowns.
Rookie tight end Noah Fant caught 42 passes for 562 yards and three touchdowns. He was the second leading receiver after Sutton, so there was a need for offensive weapons. Elway addressed that issue in the offseason, signing running back Melvin Gordon to compliment Lindsay in the backfield. Also, the Broncos drafted wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and K.J Hamler. If Lock can take another step forward the Broncos will cause some problems for teams while on offense.
The big question in this matchup is Lock. If he can take the next step, the Broncos will pose some matchup problems for the Falcons young secondary. They also run the ball well and added Graham Glasgow upfront. However, the addition of Davidson to the line will help the Falcons against the run. Deion Jones is healthy now, so that will help as well.
Fangio was brought in to Denver to continue the Broncos strong defensive reputation. Last season they ranked 11th against the pass. Free safety Justin Simmons is coming off of a season with 93 tackles, 4 interceptions and 15 passes defended. Cornerback Chris Harris is gone but A.J Bouye was acquired from the Jaguars to replace him.
Von Miller is coming off another pro bowl season with 46 tackles, eight sacks and 20 quarterback hits. Former first-round pick Bradley Chubb missed most of the year with an ACL tear, whenever he returns it will fortify their defensive line. Derek Wolfe registered seven sacks in while filling in for Chubb on the edge. Jurrell Casey was acquired from the Tennessee Titans to strengthen the middle of the line to and help against the run.
When the Falcons are on offense, they will have the advantage on most weeks because of Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and now Todd Gurley II. The key to success in this one for Atlanta is to run the football. The Broncos ranked 16th against the run, so there is an opportunity for them to have some success on the ground. The Falcons had a problem protecting Ryan last year, he was sacked 48 times. The Broncos registered 40 sacks last season. Miller is a sack machine and will feast if the Falcons do not correct those problems.
The Falcons have the advantage in this, but it is not by much this game will likely come down to the wire.
