Falcons snap counts from a close loss to the Chiefs

The Falcons offered few surprises in terms of playing time on Sunday night.

We’ll see the lineup change for the Atlanta Falcons as time goes on, and we’ll see tweaks to the game plan on a weekly basis. Still, it feels like we’re seeing the team settle into their preferred group of starters and rotations early on, because they’re certainly deploying those lineups pretty consistently in the first three weeks.

Here’s a closer look at the snap counts for Week 3.

Offense

Kirk Cousins: 61

Jake Matthews: 61

Matthew Bergeron: 61

Chris Lindstrom: 61

Drake London: 61

Ray-Ray McCloud: 58

Darnell Mooney: 57

Bijan Robinson: 50

Storm Norton: 46

Ryan Neuzil: 42

Kyle Pitts: 42

Charlie Woerner: 19

Drew Dalman: 19

Kaleb McGary: 15

Tyler Allgeier: 13

Ross Dwelley: 3

KhaDarel Hodge: 2

The story here is the same as it has been. The Falcons run with their horses, with Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and Ray-Ray McCloud absorbing 99% of the wide receiver snaps, Kyle Pitts getting heavy work as the top tight end, and Tyler Allgeier taking a clear backseat to Bijan Robinson. The makings of a terrific offense are in there in stretches, but you do wonder if Atlanta feels they have the depth to weather injuries if they crop up, or if this is just about putting the best players on the field for the maximum amount of time.

Unfortunately, injuries did crop up along the offensive line, which forced Ryan Neuzil and Storm Norton into major roles. Norton was typically solid, while Neuzil mostly held up in pass protection (impressive given the opponent) and struggled as a run blocker. Both players are likely to start next Sunday against the Saints, which means we’ll hope for the best they can give.

Overall, though, you see the vision for this offense and their planned reliance on their top guys. The Falcons just need everything to click, which takes time and good health.

Defense

Kaden Elliss: 74

Jessie Bates: 74

Troy Andersen: 73

Justin Simmons: 73

A.J. Terrell: 73

Mike Hughes: 52

Dee Alford: 48

Grady Jarrett: 48

David Onyemata: 47

Matthew Judon: 44

Lorenzo Carter: 41

James Smith-Williams: 35

Arnold Ebiketie: 30

Eddie Goldman: 27

Kentavius Street: 21

Clark Phillips: 21

Ta’Quon Graham: 18

Zach Harrison: 14

JD Bertrand: 1

The trend lines have stayed the same on this side of the ball. Hughes has been far better than I would have expected him to be and Alford has been far worse than he ought to be—I’m not really worried about him long-term—and Phillips is mixing in and getting valuable experience for his eventual work as a starter. The secondary is settled outside of that wrinkle with Phillips, with Richie Grant getting zero work on defense in this one. That could have been owing to Simmons’ history with Patrick Mahomes or simply Simmons’ readiness after a couple of weeks of getting his legs under him, but either way, perhaps we’ll see less of him going forward after a couple of solid weeks to begin the season.

Up front, it’s still the same rotation, which is providing the Falcons with solid but not fantastic work. The run defense has been alright but less than stellar, the pass rush has been non-existent outside of a couple of short stretches, and we’re still waiting for anyone not named Jarrett and Onyemata to put together a superlative effort. Judon’s going to get there and this is still a solid rotation, but I’m far less optimistic about the pass rush coming together than I am a run defense that has tended to be a team strength. Regardless, I don’t expect any major changes to playing time in the short term, even if I really wish we could see more Zach Harrison.

Special teams

JD Bertrand: 21

Micah Abernathy: 21

Avery Williams: 21

Richie Grant: 21

DeAngelo Malone: 21

Antonio Hamilton: 18

KhaDarel Hodge: 15

Charlie Woerner: 10

Bradley Pinion: 10

Zach Harrison: 8

Ross Dwelley: 8

Kevin King: 7

Arnold Ebiketie: 6

Ray-Ray McCloud: 6

Tyler Allgeier: 6

Liam McCullough: 6

Mike Hughes: 5

David Onyemata: 5

Lorenzo Carter: 5

Kentavius Street: 5

Ta’Quon Graham: 5

Dee Alford: 4

Kaden Elliss: 3

Troy Andersen: 3

Chris Lindstrom: 3

Jake Matthews: 3

Matthew Bergeron: 3

Storm Norton: 3

Ryan Neuzil: 3

Kyle Hinton: 3

Younghoe Koo: 3

Casey Washington: 2

Kaleb McGary: 1