Atlanta Falcons

5 Reasons why the Falcons lost to the Eagles

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:15 p.m. ET

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Nov 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) sacks Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons looked flat and stumbled their way to a 24-15 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s look at why this happened

Well that was disappointing.

After waiting for what seemed like a whole offseason (it was only 10 days) for the Falcons to play again, they gave us a frustrating game to watch Sunday in Philly. The Atlanta offense got stagnant against one of the better defensive units in the league, only posting 15 points all afternoon. This was about half the amount of points they usually score in a game, not something you want to see after an extended period of rest.

On the other side of the ball, things weren’t much better. Although they forced another turnover, the Falcon defense still had periods where they struggled. Ryan Matthews scored two rushing touchdowns for Philadelphia and Atlanta still played mediocre pass defense. They ended up holding the Eagles to 24 points, but it did feel like Philly left some points on the board.

Thankfully this brings the Falcons to their Bye week. With injuries to key players such as Desmond Trufant and Tevin Coleman, this gives them time to rest up. This performance today wasn’t pretty but if you would have told me the Falcons would be 6-4 at this point before the season, I would have been thrilled. I have a feeling this team will bounce back and make a nice playoff push in the coming weeks.

With that said, let’s move on and see what I thought were the main reasons why Atlanta lost this game.

Nov 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles free safety Rodney McLeod (23) during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Falcons, 24-15. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

5. Underwhelming Offensive Performance

After torching opposing defenses for the first 9 weeks, the Falcons came back to earth with a thud this afternoon. Matt Ryan had his first shaky game in a while, throwing for 267 yards, but he also had an interception late in the game. Julio Jones had a nice game statistically, but he had a bad drop that sealed Atlanta’s fate towards the end.

The running game wasn’t much better. Devonta Freeman and Terron Ward combined to run for only 48 yards on 13 carries. This can’t be the case going forward if the Falcons want to maintain their status as the best offense in the NFL. I know the Eagles have a stout defense (more on that next slide) but the key to this offense’s success is balance. Atlanta didn’t have that today and it was a big part to why they lost this game.

Nov 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) is sacked by Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin (98) during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

4. Philly’s Defense

As I mentioned, the Eagles’ defense is pretty darn good.

Philly ranks towards the top in nearly all defensive categories so it shouldn’t be that big of a surprise they played well this afternoon. They had Matt Ryan on his toes all day, posting 6 QB hits and 2 sacks. Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin feasted on the Falcons O-line today, and that is not ideal.

I have to give credit where credit is due, and this defense smothered the Falcons from the get-go today. Behind a raucous home crowd, Eagles were flying around for the most of this game. They shut down the Falcon run game and caused havoc for Jake Matthews and the rest of the line. This defense was definitely a big part in this loss today.

Atlanta needs to learn from this game and build on their mistakes for future contests. Down the road, they will be facing other top defenses in the last 6 games. They can’t play the way they did today and expect to win, especially when they want to make a deep run into the playoffs,

Nov 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (18) reacts after scoring a touchdown in the third quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Philadelphia defeated Atlanta 24-15. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

3. 3rd Down Efficiency

Did the Falcons even convert on a third down today?

Oh, they did? Twice?! Well I guess I must have missed that.

In all seriousness, 3rd down was a problem for Atlanta today. They only converted 2-11 attempts and were dominated in time of possession because of it. The recipe to the Falcons’ success is not having an improving, but still kind of bad, defense on the field for the majority of the game.

On the bright side, this is normally not a problem for this team. Hopefully this afternoon was just an outlier and they correct the mistakes that were made. The Falcons are a much better team when they can string together long drives by converting on third down. Bye weeks have the chance to improve these sort of things, so hopefully Atlanta comes back stronger in two weeks.

Nov 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) carries the football against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

2. Offensive Line

I touched lightly on the Falcons offensive line earlier but I have to reiterate just how poor their play was this afternoon. They were pretty bad in most phases of the game today. The run game never got going and Ryan Schraeder and Jake Matthews were beat time and time again by Philly edge rushers. In total, they fell about 100 yards of offense short of their average and allowed 2 sacks and 6 hits to Matt Ryan.

This has been one of the more formidable units in all of football this season so let’s hope this isn’t a reoccurring issue. I still maintain that Alex Mack is the “real” MVP of this team, so with him leading the way, I think they right the ship and move on from this game.

Nov 13, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Ryan Mathews (24) scores on a 5-yard touchdown run during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Falcons, 24-15. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

1. Lack of Run Defense

For most of this season, the Falcons have stuffed the opposition’s run game very well. Coming into this week they ranked 7th in rush defense.

It’s just too bad they didn’t play that way against the Eagles today. Philly running backs Ryan Matthews and Wendell Smallwood ran for 179 yards on 31 combined carries. The duo also chipped in 2 touchdowns to round out their solid day.

Atlanta’s pass defense is already shaky as it is. If they start to bend against the run as well, it may not matter how many points they score. This was the most concerning part of the game today and has to be corrected. If the Falcons want to be a true contender, they have to be able to stop the run.