Six games into the Raheem Morris era in Atlanta, the Falcons’ high-powered offense has helped put them in the driver’s seat of the NFC South.
The team’s 4-2 start is the best for the franchise since 2016, the year Atlanta reached Super Bowl LI. The Falcons are fresh off three straight wins over divisional foes following Sunday’s 38-20 road victory against the Carolina Panthers. Atlanta’s 38 points were its most since Nov. 29, 2020 in a 43-6 home win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Much of the reason for the offensive explosion on Sunday was the Falcons’ running game. Tyler Allgeier, who has performed well in the backup role this season, rushed for 105 yards and a score, while starter Bijan Robinson ran for 95 yards and a pair of scores on the ground.
Morris, the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator the last three seasons, was well aware of Allgeier’s physical style of running before landing the head job in Atlanta.
“Tyler was a pain in my neck his rookie season,” Morris said of matching up against Allgeier in Los Angeles in 2022. “Being a defensive coordinator against him and trying to figure out who he was. I remember telling our guys in the meeting, âThis guy runs hard.’ … This guy is certainly a heavy back and runs with great intent. He has great vision. I love the combination of him (and Bijan) and how they work together and how they cheer for each other. It’s the definition of great teammates, those two guys.”
Atlanta swept the critical three-game stretch of NFC South opponents, topping New Orleans and Tampa Bay before Sunday’s victory over the Panthers. The Falcons hold the first-place tiebreaker over the Buccaneers for now, but they’ll meet again in Week 8 in Tampa.
Before that, the Falcons will host the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, a team reeling from a three-game losing streak.
Morris — who’s coaching his 66th game as an NFL head coach this Sunday (25-40 overall with Tampa Bay in 2009-11 and Atlanta in 2020, 2024) — knows not to overlook Seattle, regardless of its recent woes.
“Geno (Smith) has been playing great these past couple of years in kind of his bounce-back for his whole career,” Morris said of the Seahawks’ quarterback. “Obviously D.K. Metcalf has been a physical force in the league for a while, and Tyler Lockett has been a pain in my neck forever. … We’ve got our hands full.”
On the injury docket for Atlanta, special teamer Micah Abernathy went down with a knee injury Sunday, and will likely miss “a significant amount of time,” Morris said.
Linebacker Troy Andersen missed Sunday’s game with a knee injury, but Morris told reporters that Atlanta will continue to evaluate the injury as the week progresses.