Falcons vs. Texans: Key Players to Watch
The Falcons take on the Houston Texans at the Georgia Dome on Sunday. Here are the 16 key players to watch.
Ryan will see a lot of the Texans All-Pro DE J.J. Watt on Sunday.
The best defensive player in the world is a three-time Pro Bowler and already has three sacks in 2015.
The second-year tackle will go up against the number one overall pick from his draft class in Texans' Jadeveon Clowney.
Cushing, a veteran linebacker, leads the Texans with 21 tackles (13 solo).
Beasley has recorded a sack in each of the past two games and will look to continue that streak against the Houston offensive line.
The 2014 first-overall pick is coming into his own as a pass rusher and has a team-high eight QB hurries this year.
Clayborn recorded his first sack of the season last week at Dallas and will continue to apply pressure this week to QB Ryan Mallett.
A Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, Wilfork eats up a lot of space on the D-line and is especially valuable against the run.
Durant is the Falcons' leading tackler through three games.
An unproven quarterback, Mallett, 27, has tossed three touchdown passes and two interceptions this season.
Falcons' Desmond Trufant and Texans' DeAndre Hopkins were only separated by five picks in first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Hopkins has been Houston's best WR this year. He has 252 receiving yards and three touchdowns in his first three games of 2015.
Levitre will handle one of the best nose tackles in the game, 33-year-old Vince Wilfork.
A solid No. 2 behind Hopkins, Washington has caught 13 balls for 210 yards this year.
Freeman will look to continue to build off of his career day against Dallas where he ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
Blue has done a good job filling in for an injured Arian Foster. He has 187 rushing yards on 45 carries as the Texans' feature back—good for a 4.2 average.
