Atlanta Falcons secondary will be the key to winning versus Cowboys

After a terrible game plan in week one, the Atlanta Falcons have a chance for redemption.

The Atlanta Falcons secondary gets a second chance Sunday, for fans to see what they’re all about. In fact, the Falcons defensive backs versus the Cowboys receivers will be the key to winning the game Sunday.

The last time these two teams matched up in 2018, Julio Jones made the Falcons best play as a defender. Matt Ryan overthrew him, Jones turned and leveled the defender breaking up a for sure interception. If Raheem Morris is smart, he would be showing his young guys that play.

The Cowboys will roll out Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup. You can expect them to get the bulk of the targets as the Boys will be without their top tight end. But don’t forget about that man Ezekiel Elliott.

The Atlanta Falcons would be wise to stack the box against him just about every chance they get. That’s a running back that can change the game.

And if they do that, they are going to have to rely heavily on man to man coverage in the secondary. The Atlanta Falcons forced just four incompletions last week versus Seattle on 35 attempts. That’s real life, not a Madden statistic. And while Dak Prescott is no Russell Wilson, any professional quarterback should be salivating seeing the way the Falcons secondary performed last week.

What do the Atlanta Falcons put more emphasis on in Week 2?

The Falcons are going to have to pick their poison: sell out to stop the run, or allow Zeke to carve them up so they can stay comfortable in their outdated Cover 2 scheme. For some reason, the coaching staff still sees potential in Isaiah Oliver despite receivers being more open than Waffle House when they’re going against him.

You can expect him to be matched up on Amari Cooper. The Cowboys would also be smart to make sure Cooper gets plenty of chances against AJ Terrell. While a rookie cornerback might be the hardest position in the NFL, we expected him to struggle at points this year. ACC, SEC, whoever he faced in college, you’re going against talent on a different level.

If the Falcons hope to win Sunday and save their season and keep Dan Quinn’s seat just warm, Oliver and Terrell are going to have to play like the professionals they are getting paid to be. If not, the Cowboys might have their way on the ground and through the air. If the two young corners step up, we might see a glimpse of what the Falcons defense can be.