Raheem Morris on Atlanta Falcons' Struggling Run Game and Possible Solution

The Atlanta Falcons lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on Sunday afternoon. They played the game with their third-choice right tackle, Eli Wilkinson, after losing starter Kaleb McGary for the season and swing tackle Storm Norton for six to eight weeks.

Wilkinson started at left guard for the Falcons in 2022, and there were justifiable concerns for his ability to man the blind side of quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

However, Wilkinson wasn't the liability Falcons fans feared heading into the season, though he wasn't the dominating run presence they've grown accustomed to with McGary either.

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Head coach Raheem Morris didn't want to single Wilkinson out on Monday, knowing the unit as a whole didn't play as well as he would have liked.

“It's really hard to talk about just Elijah Wilkinson. We didn't play particularly well up front, and that showed in the run game," Morris said on Monday.

The Falcons ran for just 69 yards on 28 carries. Remove quarterback Michael Penix Jr. from the equation, and Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier managed just 48 yards on 22 carries, a paltry 2.2 yards per rush.

It was their second-worst rushing output in the last 20 games; only 50 yards against the Denver Broncos last season was worse. However, they were in it to the end, thanks to a strong effort from the defense, and brilliance from second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Morris would like to have leaned less on Penix on Sunday.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. stretches for a crucial first down on 4th down in the 4th quarter. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"You don't go out there planning to throw the ball 42 times with your young quarterback," Morris continued. "You want to go out there and establish the run and get some of those things going. When it shifts to having to get some easy completions, and Mike [Penix Jr.] having to really control the clock with his arm and being able to get some easy completions out there and throw some timing and rhythm passes in order to get some of those things going, that's not how you wanted to go, particularly up front."

Overall, Morris thought Wilkinson handled himself well, aside from a pair of pre-snap penalties.

"Elijah, you felt good about everything except for the false starts. You got two false starts that you’ve got to eliminate. You don't want them things to happen at home. That's the greatest environment you're going to be able to play in. When you get to the road, it’s only going to get tougher. So he'll get better and better as we go."

The fear of Penix running for his life all game never materialized.

"From a protection standpoint, you felt good because you did drop back 42 times and get sacked once.," Morris said. "You got hit a couple more times than you wanted to, but that wasn't all on one person. That was all across the board, but Elijah gives us a chance to win every single game, and he'll get better and better as we go."

What may have been most surprising was the lack of snaps for tight end Charlie Woerner. Woerner is generally considered one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. He played on just 42% of the snaps.

Instead, the Falcons elected to go with a four-wide receiver look for much of the time, with Kyle Pitts, being a tight end in name only, lining up in the slot and at wide receiver.

With wide receiver Darnell Mooney out of the game, Casey Washington played 95% of the Falcons' snaps with Ray-Ray McCloud joining Pitts and Drake London in the Falcons four-wide sets.

The Falcons made several adjustments following their Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. They went on the road and upset the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.

They travel to Minnesota on Sunday night, and if they want to kickstart the running game, a heavier dose of Charlie Woerner might be in order.