Falcon Report

4 Ways Atlanta Falcons Defeat Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football

The Atlanta Falcons take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, and here are four keys to victory for Atlanta.

CJ Errickson

No one has intercepted Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes more than Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (five).
No one has intercepted Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes more than Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (five). / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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After an exhilarating Week 2 victory in primetime against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Atlanta Falcons can do the same against the reigning Super Bowl Champions. This time, it will be on their turf in Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

The Chiefs are coming into this contest at 2-0, but there is more to their record than meets the eye. In Week 1, they were a shoe size difference away from potentially losing to the Baltimore Ravens, and last week, they won on a last-second field goal by Harrison Butker against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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They went 11-6 last year before winning the Super Bowl. The bottom line is that this is a beatable Chiefs team especially during the regular season. Here is how head coach Raheem Morris and the company can achieve the feat on Sunday night. 

Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson must keep the ground attack going.

In Week 2, Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson did a fantastic job getting the run game going with both Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier. The duo accounted for 150 rushing yards and was pivotal to the team’s victory. 

Against a middle-of-the-pack rushing defense, expect a hefty dose of various rushing concepts to mitigate Chiefs defensive coordinators' aggressive pass rush with All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones. 

Running Bijan Robinson from under center has done wonders for the Atlanta offense after a predictable showing in Week 1.

“According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons had a 77.8% success rate with Robinson when Kirk Cousins started under center.” Falcons reporter Tori McElhaney, wrote.

This week, the mission should remain the same. 

Get Kyle Pitts going against the worst NFL defense versus tight ends.

Someone who has had little involvement in Atlanta’s offense for several years is fourth-year tight end Kyle Pitts, who only has six receptions for 46 yards so far this season. On Sunday night, there is a strong chance that those totals could be double, if not more. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo currently possesses the worst NFL defense in defending opposing tight ends. They have allowed a league-most 276 yards and one touchdown to tight ends in the season's first two weeks. 

Last week the Cincinnati Bengals Mike Gesicki and Erick All victimized the Chiefs defense for 11 catches on 13 targets for 126 yards.

This matchup is a golden opportunity for Pitts and the Falcons to add another layer to their offense, which is slowly coming together under Kirk Cousins's veteran leadership.

Falcons cornerbacks must be physical at the line of scrimmage against the Chiefs' younger receivers. 

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is undoubtedly the elite engine of the Chiefs' offense, but his two favorite wide receiver targets are still young. Rashee Rice is in his second NFL season, and speedster Xavier Worthy is just a rookie.

Falcons fifth-year cornerback A.J. Terrell, who only allowed three receptions on four targets last week against the highly talented Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith, has an opportunity to be the physical menace he is to disrupt the timing of the Chiefs’ speedsters' routes.  

However, he cannot do it alone, and the opposite of Terrell is a seven-year veteran cornerback who has played admirably since earning ‘CB2’ status this past offseason. 

As seen above, Mike Hughes has only allowed three receiving yards in 46 coverage snaps this season. While a small sample size, he has been an asset in run support and had a timely PBU on 4th down in the red zone last week against the Eagles. 

This week, Hughes and Mullen must be physically active at the line of scrimmage to thwart the speed of the Chiefs’ receivers. 

Control the middle of the field defensively to control Travis Kelce.

With highly talented safeties in Jessie Bates III and Justin Simmons, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake has a fearsome duo that has done well at controlling the middle of the field in 2024. 

In Week 1, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields did not complete one pass in the middle of the field.  Against the Eagles last week, Jalen Hurts completed a few passes in the middle of the field but mostly looked to the numbers and beyond for completions. 

This week, they will have to do the same against All-Pro Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Despite sparse usage this season, he still threatens to ruin games at any point, as he has ten career games with two or more touchdowns. 

Simmons has intercepted Mahomes five times in his career, more than any other player.

Overall, this is a winnable game for the Falcons, and should they follow the above keys, it will be their best chance of becoming 2-1 on the season. ESPN currently has the Falcons a 3.0-point underdog with a 41.5% chance of winning the game.

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CJ Errickson

CJ ERRICKSON