It is the first victory Monday of the season for the Atlanta Falcons. The defense dominated this game, helping carry the team to a win with assistance from the special teams unit. It wasn’t a pretty day for the offense, but they got the job done and improved in the run game. Here’s the Week 2 three up and three down.
3 up
Bijan Robinson
Appreciate what you are seeing from number 7, because he is special. No one executes the dead leg move better than Bijan. He routinely turns blown-up runs into massive gains with his
ability to set up second and third-level defenders. After having over 100 yards as a receiver, he put up 143 on the ground against the Brian Flores-orchestrated defense.
Last night, the team needed to lean on the run game, and Bijan (along with Tyler Allgeier) rose to the occasion. I doubt this will be the last time we see Mr. Robinson on this list.
Rookie Defenders
It was impossible to select only one rookie performance from last night’s game, a problem we love having. The Falcons went all in on defense in the 2025 draft, and the returns have been eye-popping through two weeks. The Falcons are a top-5 defense statistically, and their rookie class is leading them. This buddy system approach to the secondary and pass rush rooms is yielding interceptions and sacks.
Jalon Walker blew by the left tackle with a mean swipe to record a big sack in the red zone. James Pearce Jr was at the scene of multiple sacks and gave the entire Vikings OL trouble. Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr. both showed off their nose for the football. We love it when a plan comes together.
Parker Romo & friends
The special teams unit bounced back in a big way. After a missed game-tying field goal and uncharacteristic execution errors from the coverage squads, Marquice Williams’ group got back on track. Romo gave us a scare with his initial kick, but was a deadeye shot the rest of the game, finishing with an emphatic 54-yard make.
Mike Ford lived up to his special teams prowess, consistently making plays in the third phases of the game and even causing fumbles with his angelic voice. The offense struggled, but the defense and special teams groups stepped up big, and sometimes that’s how games play out, the best teams can win in more ways than 1.
3 down
Matthew Bergeron
It was a better day on the ground, but the third-year player is still costing his team in pass protection. The film is out there; you can easily fool Bergeron on stunts. We saw it against Tampa Bay, and it showed up last night, but Bergeron is getting overaggressive in his pass sets and latching on to defenders when he needs to be passing them off and picking up an incoming looper. However, it wasn’t just stunts; Bergeron had no answer for the bull rush and was driven back with ease multiple times.
The team was prepared for early struggles on the right, but they can’t afford to have issues on the left, too. The interior has a more favorable matchup against the Panthers pass rush, but I’ll be sweating every rep that has Derrick Brown over Bergeron.
Drake London
This was supposed to be the season that London finally breaks out and garners national attention, but the wide receiver has had a start to forget. London had a costly fumble that could’ve put the game in jeopardy. He hasn’t looked like the reliable player we have come to know and enjoy. It is important to note that London could still be recovering from a sore shoulder injury, but if he’s out there, he has to be counted on to do his job, and we haven’t seen him live up to the expectations this team has for him.
Red zone offense
The Falcons offense won’t be happy with their red zone film review. From missed opportunities to stale playcalling, the unit isn’t operating at full capacity in this area of the field. Penix missed a few throws early and wasn’t able to find his rhythm. Robinson did a much better job in short-yardage situations this week, but his offense struggled to carry that momentum into the red zone. Sometimes the game goes that way, and you have to find other ways to win, but that makes two weeks in a row that Atlanta has struggled in the red zone, and it will be their Achilles heel if they fail to clean up the issues.
Winning in this league isn’t easy, and it won’t always look perfect. The Falcons have plenty to work on, but it is exciting to see Atlanta win with defense and special teams after many believed the offense would have to do the heavy lifting every week. Enjoy this victory Tuesday as the team prepares for Carolina.
