Box scores tell you what happened. Snap counts tell you what a coaching staff actually believes. Following the Falcons’ 45-24 beatdown of the rival New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football at the Superdome, what changed or remained the same from our Week 1-3 look at the snap counts?
Even just 11 days after a 35-14 Thursday Night Football victory over the Green Bay Packers, this was the best performance of the 2026 season from the Atlanta Falcons, and it surely felt the best. After two starts of actual adequate or better quarterback play, the snap counts get that much more clearly indicative of how this team actually wants to run things.
Five rushing touchdowns tied the Falcons’ franchise record, a historic night for the Robinsons. The Robinson Crew-so left the Saints stranded to the point of giving up on the last one. Brian Robinson Jr. has proven to be a perfect change of pace for star Bijan Robinson, handling 35.4% of the snaps through four weeks. Both Falcons ball carriers are in the top 5 for most yards after contact per rush among NFL RBs this season: Bijan at 4.7 YPC (1st) and Brian at 3.9 YPC (4th). A nice lick of the wounds felt by fans losing fan favorite Tyler Allgeier to free agency.
What we saw from the Atlanta Falcons' Week 4 snap counts vs. Saints
You can see the Saints quit mid-Falcons 5th rushing TD tonight
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) October 6, 2026
“You dominate the guy across from you, and make his ass quit” - Nick Saban pic.twitter.com/4AbOQGeQrc
The handling of WR3, 4, and 5 just got some further confirmation. Olamide Zaccheaus has manned 36.2% of the year’s snaps, Chris Blair 27.6%, and rookie Zachariah Branch 22.6%. Worth noting, Branch is the sole recipient of a catch vs the Saints (2 for 10 yards). Continuing to project that Branch will gradually take over WR4 as offensive coordinator Tommy Rees brings him along slowly, and he gets more acclimated returning punts/kicks. Shoutout for a critical 25-yard punt return early on in the game.
Continue to marvel at Nate Ollie’s snap allocation between the recently-extended Gervon Dexter Sr. and Maason Smith on the defensive interior. Out of 273 defensive snaps this season, Dexter has manned 55%, while Smith has 52%. Bravo to General Manager Ian Cunningham centering these two pieces in the middle of the NFL-leading defense in quarterback pressures (87) for the costs of Ruke Orhorhoro, Clark Phillips III, & a 5th Round pick.
Rookie linebacker and New Orleans native Harold Perkins Jr. was arguably the player of the game defensively with 8 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 2 pass breakups. His increasingly good play is being noticed, essentially having flipped with Kendal Daniels the last two weeks. First two games: Perkins 36.8% of the snaps/Daniels 64.7%. Last two winning games? Perkins 67.9%/Daniels 38.6%. Incredible value is shown from both, but at a 6th-round price tag, extraordinary steps are being taken by Perkins.
Jared Ivey was perceived as the “bigger” waiver addition by Falcons fans over Yasir Abdullah. The coaches don’t see it that way, giving Abdullah 30.8% of the snaps available through four games, and Ivey receiving 21.1%. The truer note? The last two winning weeks aren’t comparable, with Abdullah manning 37.1% and Ivey all the way down to 6%.
C.J. Henderson is getting the majority of love from the fans since stepping up in A.J. Terrell’s absence, and justly so, he’s been the best at the position on the team this season, but tip your cap to another Terrell. Avieon has been playing more and more and playing extremely well. A teller? The struggling Mike Hughes has seen his snap count percentage go down every week, and no more drastic than vs. the Saints. Hughes has gone from back-to-back 100% snaps in the two opening losses to 85% and a significant 65% Monday. Where did the other 35% go? Avieon has seen his shares go from 34%, 39%, 20%, all the way up to 49% Week 4. The kind of versatile security the Falcons bet on taking the value of Terrell in the second round of the NFL Draft.
If Falcons CB CJ Henderson keeps playing like he has this year (best CB), you found Mike Hughes’s replacement pic.twitter.com/GMoQarlFbs
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) October 6, 2026
Lamar Jackson or not (most likely not), the Ravens on Sunday Night Football with a chance to get over .500 and take the sole lead in the NFC South (Panthers have a Bye) will be another great sample of our snap count series this season. Make no mistake, whatever these coaches are doing, it is working.
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