The Atlanta Falcons are off to a slow start on Sunday Night Football after picking up a huge win against the Buffalo Bills in Week 6. The Falcons’ offense only has three points in the first half and is trailing the injury-ridden 49ers by a touchdown at halftime. They need to get going if they want to get back in the game, and Drake London is a weapon that needs to be more involved.
Drake London’s Slow Start
London has been very quiet in the first half, as has the entire offense. He is their best receiving threat and needs to be more involved in the second half. He isn’t hurt, but is struggling to make an impact so far.
At the half, London has three catches for 32 yards, which is the second-highest for Atlanta. London has been the most reliable target for Atlanta through six weeks and one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL. Darnell Mooney’s return has helped give Atlanta another receiving threat, and he was leading the team in receiving at halftime.
London has 427 receiving yards through six games, which is ninth in the NFL. He is the 18th-ranked wide receiver in PFSN’s Wide Receiver Impact score with an impact score of 83.0. When at his best, he is almost unguardable and gives opposing defenses fits trying to keep him in check. The 49ers’ defense has done a good job with London and isn’t allowing him to hurt them.
The Falcons need to win tonight if they want to stay in the race for the NFC South. The Buccaneers are one of the best teams in the NFL and have no plans of slowing down. The Panthers just got a key win over the Jets and moved to 4-3 and would be ahead of Atlanta if the Falcons can’t mount a second-half comeback.
If Atlanta does win, then the pressure shifts to Tampa Bay to win and keep its distance from the Falcons. If the Falcons win and Tampa Bay loses, the difference will be just .5 games. A good way back into the game is to involve their superstars, Bijan Robinson and London. Between those two and their tough defense against a banged-up 49ers offense, the Falcons have a good shot to overturn this deficit.
Atlanta has an easy opponent coming up, so a win would be huge. The Miami Dolphins are next and are in free fall at the moment, with their offense floundering and unable to get wins. A win tonight and taking care of business in Week 8 would do wonders for the franchise, and only time will tell the Falcons’ morale in the near future.
