Green Bay Packers: 5 Telling Stats to Know About Atlanta

Before the Green Bay Packers take the field on Monday night, here are five stats you need to know about the Atlanta Falcons.

Gameday is finally here! Tonight the 3-0 Green Bay Packers will take on the struggling 0-3 Atlanta Falcons. Through three games, the Packers defense has had their ups and downs, but they’ve come up with big stops and turnovers when needed. Meanwhile, the offense has been nearly unstoppable.

The Falcons, on the other hand, are trending in the wrong direction, and the 2020 season is dangerously close to slipping away from them. They’ve blown back to back fourth-quarter leads, however, while it can be easy to overlook a winless team, Atlanta still has a very potent offense that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

As we await tonight’s game, to help familiarize you with this somewhat uncommon opponent, I’ve picked out five key stats about the Falcons that will highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses of this team.

36 points per game

With Allen Lazard out and Davante Adams’ status up in the air, naturally, there are concerns about how effective this Green Bay Packers’ offense can be without their two top pass catchers potentially. And while there is no replacing either Lazard or Adams and life without them is certainly more difficult, this offense should still be able to find success against what has been a bad Falcons’ defense.

Atlanta is allowing 36 points per game this season, which currently is the second-most in the NFL. They have a banged-up secondary that Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rodgers should still exploit even without their top-dogs. Behind a dynamic run game, Rodgers playing at an elite level, LaFleur’s play-calling, and the involvement of the running backs and tight ends in the passing game, the Packers should still put up points on Monday.

27 Receptions

As I just said, the Green Bay Packers will be short-handed at the receiver position, which could mean more opportunities for the tight ends to make an impact in the passing game. After a quiet start on the stat sheet this season, the unit had their breakout game against New Orleans, hauling in nine receptions for 104 yards with two touchdowns. And they should find similar success against Atlanta.

Through the first three weeks this season, the Falcons’ defense has allowed 27 receptions on 32 targets to opposing tight ends for 238 yards and four touchdowns. With Robert Tonyan, Jace Sternberger, and possibly Josiah Deguara, the Packers should take advantage of this matchup.

349 yards for Calvin Ridley

We learned early Monday morning that both Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley would be playing in this game. While we are all familiar with how good Jones is, because of Atlanta’s struggles, I think Ridley’s start to the season has flown a bit under the radar.

Prior to Sunday’s Week 4 games, Ridley’s 349 receiving yards was the second-most in the NFL. He’s the only receiver with over 100 yards in all three games, and his four touchdown receptions were the most in football before yesterday’s games. He’s a big play waiting to happen, averaging nearly 17 yards per catch, and this Packers’ secondary better be ready.

4.61 yards per carry

In addition to Atlanta’s potent air attack, they’ve found success on the ground as well this season, averaging 4.61 yards per carry, which is tied with Baltimore for the 10th best rate. As we all know, the Green Bay Packers have struggled to stop the run; they’re saving grace has been the offense giving them a two or even three-score lead to play with, which has forced opponents to throw the ball.

However, we can’t expect that to happen every week, and this game could very well turn into a shootout. Kingsley Keke is coming off what is easily the best performance of his career, and hopefully, Kenny Clark is back as well, but even so, just as we saw last season, this unit can still be taken advantage of.

4.8 percent Adjusted Sack Rate

As is always the case, pressuring the quarterback will be key, but when you’re up against Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley, making Matt Ryan uncomfortable is a must. Although this is a very talented Green Bay Packers’ secondary, if Ryan has time, he will connect on some big plays. You can only cover Jones and Ridley for so long.

Earlier this week in a Zoom call with reporters, OLB Coach Mike Smith mentioned that the front-seven has to do a better job creating consistent pressure. This is something that they were tremendous at last season, however, it won’t be any easier this week as they are up against an Atlanta offensive line with an adjusted sack rate of only 4.8 percent; the seventh-best rate in the NFL.

From Football Outsiders, adjusted sack rate takes into account several factors, other than whether or not the team sacked the quarterback. What it measures is sacks per pass attempts while also taking into account the down, the distance, and the opponent. This can be a more useful measurement than just sacks allowed because it considers how often the offense passes the ball.

The Green Bay Packers’ cornerbacks are in store for a difficult matchup, but the defensive front can provide some help by getting after Ryan.