Falcons pass rush still huge concern even after five-sack performance

One of the more interesting storylines in the week six matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Commanders was the Falcons' issues generating a pass rush and the Commanders' issues fending off a pass rush.

The Falcons, on the stat sheet, took the cake as they doubled their sack total by taking down Sam Howell five times. However, the stat sheet does not tell the entire story of how the Falcons still have major issues when it comes to putting pressure on the quarterback.

The Atlanta Falcons still have issues getting to the quarterback

Grady Jarrett started the sack barrage by the Atlanta Falcons defense on Sunday. After jumping offsides, he returned the favor by taking down Sam Howell. Then came four more sacks throughout the game by the Falcons, including a special moment when Calais Campbell recorded his 100th career sack.

With all that being said, the Falcons were basically gifted five sacks. The opposing quarterback, Sam Howell, has really had issues holding onto the ball, and that was the case in week six.

Essentially every sack the Falcons had was due to good coverage on the back end and bad awareness by Howell.

If the Falcons were going up against a veteran quarterback, those five sacks never would have happened. The internal clock for Howell is just not working right now and that is evident by the number of sacks he has taken.

It is great to see Grady, Calais, Arnold Ebiketie, and Bud Dupree all record at least one sack, but from what I saw, we shouldn't be too hopeful that the Falcons have found a consistent rush.

The defense has balled out, no doubt about it, but they still have this one major weakness that needs to be fixed soon. Hopefully, that fix will come via a big trade in the next few weeks.