Raheem Morris Makes Admission on Falcons Weak Pass Rush

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris came clean on one aspect of the team's defense on November 25.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons had a chance to self-scout their own defense during the team's bye week. It's a technique that head coach Raheem Morris and his coaching staff have already used effectively this season.

After playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 on Thursday Night Football, the Falcons didn't play their next game for 10 days. The time off benefited the Atlanta run defense.

Morris pointed to that success while speaking to reporters on November 25. However, Morris also admitted that he and his defensive assistants are still searching for a solution to the team's pass rushing problems.

"[Games] one through five, you had some things that you wanted to correct, you seen that you liked," Morris said. "And then you'd see what happened, and then the next six, it was like some things got better, we got better in the run game on defense, right, still wasn't able to improve the pass rush, so what can we do different in this next ending phase of what we want to call football, and how we want to end that thing in order to get better."

To Morris' point, the Falcons allowed 148.4 rushing yards per game through the first five weeks. Since then, no Falcons opponent has run for that total in a game even once. In the past six games, the Falcons defense has yielded 109.5 rushing yards per contest.

But the mini-bye week didn't have the same impact on the Atlanta pass rush. The Falcons had 5 sacks in the first five games of the season. Over the past six contests, they've also had 5 sacks.

The Falcons sit in last with 10 sacks this season. Every other team in the league has at least 17.

Good for Morris admitting to the shortcomings of his defensive coaching staff. The Falcons pass rush has mostly been awful in 2024. There's no place to hide from that fact for Morris. If the Atlanta pass rush doesn't improve, it could hold the team back from a playoff run or even the NFC South title.

But the hope is that the extra time off with a full bye week will ignite the Falcons pass rush for the stretch run.