Atlanta Falcons' Calais Campbell Reveals What Went Wrong in Loss vs. Minnesota Vikings

“We didn’t take advantage of opportunities,” Atlanta Falcons defensive end Calais Campbell said. “We need to tackle better on defense."

The Atlanta Falcons are in dire straits after suffering a third loss in four games over the weekend at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings. 

Still, after the game, veteran defender Calais Campbell alluded to this loss hitting differently, referring to it as his worst game of the season. 

Veteran defender Calais Campbell voiced his frustrations with how he and the rest of the unit performed in last week's loss to the Minnesota Vikings / USA Today Sports

“We didn’t take advantage of opportunities,” Campbell said. “We need to tackle better on defense. Josh Dobbs scrambled for a hundred yards and broke probably ten tackles along the way, scoring touchdowns and finding ways to extend plays. We just have to tackle better. It really came down to Josh Dobbs scrambling. We had this issue before. It’s something we work on, and we have to be better.” 

Yes, the Falcons need to grow from this loss and improve, but there are two ways to look at this loss. It’s either more embarrassing because Dobbs was new to Minnesota and was winging it on offense with a playbook he wasn’t familiar with, or it’s more excusable because the defense wasn’t prepared for Dobbs.

Before facing Atlanta, the Vikings lost star quarterback Kirk Cousins, who, although a phenomenal passer, isn’t a mobile threat. Cousins had rushed for 25 yards this season prior to his injury. Dobbs, on the other hand, ran for 66 yards and a touchdown in less than four quarters against the Falcons. 

Atlanta must improve after losing consecutive games to teams starting new quarterbacks, and it’s good that the Falcons have a veteran leader like Campbell to drill that point home. Still, it’s also understandable that lack of preparation for a quarterback who wasn’t even rostered for a  week likely threw off the defense since Dobbs wasn’t expected to play.

Hopefully, next week, Atlanta will find more success on the road against rookie Clayton Tune, who struggled last week, earning an abysmal 1.3 quarterback rating in his first start, a loss with the Arizona Cardinals ... or, perhaps they'll find themselves facing star quarterback Kyler Murray in his first game of the season. It's been an unpredictable season for the Falcons and how the defense can prepare.