Five takeaways from Atlanta Falcons week 1 loss to Pittsburgh

#5: Playcalling left a lot to be desired

It was Zac Robinson's first game as a play caller, so it was not going to be perfect.

Let's start with the good:

Bijan Robinson was used. Robinson's usage was a huge issue last year, and Zac Robinson wanted to change that.

This play was beautiful. Kirk was under center, and the Steelers have stacked the box preparing for a Quarterback sneak. Instead, the motion man in Bijan Robinson gets the snap, and by the time he's turned the corner, he's gotten more than enough yards for the first down.

The Pitts touchdown was also a great play call. Arthur Smith became way too gimmicky in the red zone. Trying to do fancy things instead of just getting the ball to your weapons. Zac Robinson kept it simple and it worked.

Now for the bad:

Drake London only had three targets and Kyle Pitts and Drake London combined had six targets. Meanwhile, Ray Ray McCloud (WR3!) had seven targets. It's great to see Bijan Robinson get used properly, but the same needs to be true for London and Pitts. Teams do not win many games where their WR1 only has three targets for two catches.

Zac Robinson abandoned the run. In a game where Cousins was not up to his usual standard, and was getting battered by the pass rush, the Falcons should have relied on the run. They did not. Robinson was unstoppable on the outside run, but the Falcons did not use it enough. In fact, the play before Cousins threw the game-losing interception, Robinson had an outside run for a first down.

Play action was not utilized at all. This was probably due to Cousins' injury.