Atlanta Falcons: Most important player in each of the final 9 games

Week 16 – Detroit Lions

Key player: Mike Davis (RB):

The Detroit Lions will not be a good team in 2021, they do not have a great roster.

So, if you are the Atlanta Falcons, starting with the first offensive snap, you send a message on why you are a better team. Mike Davis is the perfect guy to do that.

Davis can take the ball up the middle, run through you, and show the other team why they do not have the physicality to hang with you. The Atlanta Falcons need to dash the Lions hopes from the first quarter, this is how you prevent a lesser team from pulling off an upset.

Week 17 – Buffalo Bills

Key player: Russell Gage (WR):

Much like the game against the Cowboys, the Falcons do not match up well defensively with the Bills. You are not likely to stop Josh Allen, so you must keep him off the field.

So, the key to beating the Bills if you are the Falcons is to control the tempo of the game. Russell Gage can be the key to keeping the Atlanta Falcons offense rolling efficiently down the field.

When Matt Ryan was facing a third down in 2020, he targeted Russell Gage frequently. Gage knows how to get open on the clutch downs. The Falcons need to consistently convert their third downs against the Bills to beat them.

Week 18 – New Orleans Saints

Key player: Calvin Ridley (WR):

For a second straight week, a wide receiver is the key to winning.

Most Saints and Falcons games for the past decade have been shootouts. It is the last week of the season which means this game will probably not mean much, but that does not mean these teams do not want to dominate each other.

Calvin Ridley has seriously done damage against the Saints in his young career, so you certainly like the matchup for the Falcons, even with Julio Jones not taking Marshon Lattimore’s attention.

Ridley will hopefully put up a few touchdowns by himself to put a cap on the regular season for the Atlanta Falcons.