FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons' offensive engine can chug-a-lug downfield all it wants, but the unit has too often lost steam before the goal line.
Of course, reaching the end zone is always the goal. That the Falcons aren't doing so on a consistent basis is cause for concern. It's not impossible, but it's very difficult to win games without touchdowns.
"I'm not a big stat guy," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. "But being in the red zone is one of those things that you definitely care about because it's the most points it produces."
Entering Week 8, the Falcons boast a top-10 offense in multiple statistical categories:
- No. 4 in rushing yards per game (136.3)
- No. 4 in average time of possession (32:15)
- No. 6 in sacks allowed per pass (4.46%)
- No. 7 in total yards per game (364.3)
- No. 9 in third-down efficiency (42.31%)
- No. 10 in passing yards per game (228)
However, the Falcons are 28th in points per game (18.3) and tied for 29th in red-zone success (44.44%).
"We feel great with our ability to move the football," Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. "When we're rolling, we're rolling. It's just finding that level of consistency down in and down out."
Of the Falcons' 110 points this season, 66 have come from offensive touchdowns, which doesn't include the point-after attempts. That's 60%. Current kicker John Parker Romo (36 points) and former kicker Younghoe Koo (eight points) are responsible for the remaining 40%.
Atlanta has had a game in which it didn't score any points – the Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers — and a game in which it scored 34 points – the Week 4 win against the Washington Commanders. The latter featured four touchdowns.
Most recently, in Week 6, the Falcons lost, 20-10, to the San Francisco 49ers and scored only one touchdown.
"We've had two just clunker games," Robinson said. "You look at a zero (against the Panthers) and a 10 from last week, and we'll be fighting an uphill battle with just points per game for the whole season based on those two bad games. We've got to get those things off the tape. We've got to score more points. We've been a big reason why we haven't won those games."
Anyone on the offense who was asked about how to fix this issue answered simply: Execute better.
It sounds so easy. And yet, it doesn't seem to be.
So, let's turn to a defensive player to understand a defender's mindset near the goal line and how life becomes harder for offenses in the red zone.
"When we get down to the red zone, that's when you gotta dig deep," Falcons defensive lineman Zach Harrison said. "You gotta bow up and not let teams get in there. Because if they get in there, three is the maximum we want them to have."
There's a different kind of pressure on each side of the ball, but both sides feel it.
The Falcons play the Miami Dolphins on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta's offense should run over Miami, which is 32nd in rushing yards allowed per game (159.3), 26th in total yards allowed per game (363.1) and 11th in passing yards allowed per game (203.9). The real test will be whether the Falcons can actually finish drives as desired.
"It is frustrating, but it's football, and you can't sit there and soak into that frustration," Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said. "You've got to figure it out. And that's what we're doing. We're doing that each and every day. We're going to get it right. When we do, it's going to be great to see."
