Click here to see all recaps on a single page
| Other Week 2 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL at JAX | BUF at PIT | CIN at CLE | DAL at MIA | GB at NYG | HOU at CAR | IND at TEN | KC at CHI |
| MIN at DET | NO at TB | NYJ at BAL | OAK at DEN | SD at NE | SEA at ARI | SF at STL | WAS at PHI |
Week 2 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 7, Jacksonville Jaguars 13
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
The Falcons were unable to sustain drives against a motivated, aggressive Jacksonville defense. Atlanta compounded their offensive struggles by missing two field goals, which contributed to their loss. Warrick Dunn started the game and shared the rushing load with Jerious Norwood. Although they had limited opportunities against the tough Jaguars' defense, they both showed an ability to make the initial defender miss although they were invariably stopped shortly afterwards.
Atlanta's passing attack featured mostly short and intermediate passes with the receivers trying to gain yards after the reception. They were sporadically successful, especially in the first half, as three receivers turned intermediate catches into completions of over 25 yards by running effectively after securing the ball. However they were unable to get into the end zone, although Joey Harrington did attempt passes to Joe Horn in the red zone that were both incomplete. Harrington appeared comfortable at times when he had time to complete the shorter passes, and was accurate when he had time to throw, but he was under duress thanks to a fierce Jaguars' pass rush and was sacked seven times.
The Falcons made their first two trips inside the red zone this season, and of the seven plays they ran, four were rushing attempts. Warrick Dunn was on the field for all of the red zone and goal-to-go plays, scoring a touchdown on one of his carries. The red zone passing attempts were unsuccessful due to good pass defense by Jacksonville, including a sack.
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
Although the Jaguars did not dominate the rushing game, their offense was able to make enough big plays to stay in the game and eventually pull out the victory in a low-scoring game. Twice in the second half when they were close to the middle of the field, Jacksonville ran plays on fourth down. Neither Fred Taylor nor Maurice Jones-Drew was able to generate many yards on the ground, but they did have 27 rushing attempts between them, which was significantly more than they had the previous week. Taylor in particular had some rushes where he showed good explosiveness and an ability to change direction quickly. Jones-Drew did not have much operating room on his rushing attempts, as he seemed to have to elude defenders behind the line of scrimmage on several occasions.
The Jaguars attempted several passes that were in the intermediate area and David Garrard displayed good touch on those throws. He distributed the ball to several receivers on these intermediate passes, and connected on passes of 15 or more yards with six different receivers. As was the case in the first game, Garrard targeted Dennis Northcutt the most, but the disparity in targets was not the same as in the previous game. Garrard also targeted Matt Jones almost as many times as Northcutt. He played very efficiently during the game despite not having a strong running game and being under an aggressive Atlanta pass rush throughout.
Jacksonville attempted seven plays in the red zone, rushing four times and attempting to pass three times. Taylor was in on one of the two red zone series, getting one rushing attempt, while Jones-Drew was the primary running back on the other red zone series. Garrard was able to find Reggie Williams for a score on the only one of his three red zone pass attempts where he was not forced from the pocket.
What you ought to know
| QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 12 - 20 - 200 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 2 - 0 |
Harrington appeared poised when he had time to throw, and completed a high percentage of the short and intermediate passes he threw, some of which were turned into significant gains as a result of good running after the catch by his receivers. However there were periods during the game where it seemed the Jaguars' pass rush affected his rhythm and he missed open receivers at times. He did keep his team close and on their last series of the game displayed good athleticism in evading a pass rush and scrambling for a long gain and first down. That play was nullified due to an offensive penalty, and Harrington was sacked on the next play, which ended the drive and in essence the Falcons' chances of forcing the game into overtime.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 13 - 50 - 1, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (2 targets) |
Dunn looked good in the limited opportunities he had, especially considering the Jaguars' defense was focused on stopping the run. Although he did not break any long runs, he made the first defender miss a few times, but was wrapped up shortly afterwards by the second wave of defenders. Dunn was only used on short passing attempts in the passing game. He did have a nice rushing TD where he made a nice cut and fought for extra yardage.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 9 - 30 - 0, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (5 targets) |
Norwood did not have many opportunities to run the ball, but did show an ability to make the initial defender miss, but like Dunn, was wrapped up by other defenders. Norwood could have had better receiving numbers, but was overthrown a couple of times, dropped an easy pass and had a reception called back due to an offensive penalty.
| RB Artose Pinner, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0 |
Pinner had one carry and was stopped behind the line of scrimmage on a short-yardage rushing attempt.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 4 - 81 - 0 (7 targets) |
White seemed to have a good rapport with Harrington, and turned several intermediate timing routes into good gains after the catch. He displayed good route-running ability and good speed, including one deep pass where his defender was called for pass interference, preventing him from catching the ball. White was also overthrown on two other passes.
| WR Joe Horn, Rec: 2 - 34 - 0 (4 targets) |
Horn was targeted on two short passes in the red zone that were both incomplete, but caught the other passes thrown his way, which were both on intermediate routes.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 1 - 15 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jenkins was not a factor in the game although his lone reception was for a first down.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 3 - 53 - 0 (4 targets) |
Crumpler began the game on a good note by turning a short pass into a 35 yard gain by breaking several tackles and showing impressive speed, but was not featured much afterwards. His first second half target did not come until there was less than four minutes remaining in the game.
| PK Matt Prater 0 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Prater had a forgettable game, connecting on his only point after attempt, but missing both of his field goal attempts, which were from 43 and 26 yards.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Falcons rush defense did a commendable job of preventing the Jaguars running backs from exploding for big gains, except for one 29 yard run by Taylor. Overall Atlanta's defense held Taylor and Jones-Drew to a combined 3.22 yards per carry average. They crowded the line of scrimmage and did not give Jacksonville's runners much room to operate.
| ATL Pass Defense |
Atlanta's pass defense was aggressive throughout the game, and proved to be successful most of the game as they were able to get in the backfield several times when Garrard attempted to pass. They sacked the Jacksonville quarterback four times and forced him to scramble on several other occasions. The Falcons' secondary kept the Jaguars' receivers in front of them, and although they gave up 272 yards passing, did not get beaten on deep plays, although they did give up significant yards after the catch at times.
| QB David Garrard, Pass: 17 - 25 - 272 - 1 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 20 - 0 |
Garrard played well, and when given time to pass was precise on his passes, which were mostly intermediate in distance. He was comfortable and accurate throwing a variety of passes, whether they were over the middle or along the sideline, and showed a knack for identifying the open receiver and trying to get the ball to him. Garrard was forced to display his athleticism several times, as the Falcons were able to disrupt several of his passing attempts. He ran judiciously, breaking tackles and making defenders miss when he escaped the pocket. Although he didn't lead his team to many points, he kept them in the game and led them to victory by maintaining his poise.
| RB Fred Taylor, Rush: 16 - 56 - 0, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Taylor did not get past the line of scrimmage often, but did show flashes of his explosion, power and speed on a couple of plays where he gained first downs. He turned his only target from a short pass into a first down by outrunning several defenders for an 11 yard gain, displaying good concentration while reeling in the pass.
| RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Rush: 11 - 31 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Jones-Drew did not have many rushing attempts, but was able to display glimpses of his explosiveness and speed a few times, although he was unable to break free for any big gains. He powered through the first defender or spun away from one, but was tackled before he could generate a lot of momentum. Jones-Drew was the first option on a play designed for him to run down the sideline and catch a pass heading into the end zone, but a great play by the defender (defensive end John Abraham) to deflect the ball prevented his numbers from being better.
| RB Greg Jones, Rush: 2 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jones contributed mostly as a blocker in both the running and passing games.
| WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 5 - 75 - 0 (6 targets) |
Northcutt was only targeted once in the first half, but took advantage of the passes thrown his way in the second half to post some pretty good numbers. He displayed very good speed and quickness and was able to get open several times throughout the game. He was the most targeted Jaguars receiver for the second consecutive week.
| WR Matt Jones, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jones was not targeted in the first half, and was used on intermediate routes in the middle of the field except for one deep pass play where he could not get open. He also dropped a pass on a pass play of 16 yards that he should have caught. The Jaguars came back to him on the next play, and he caught that pass.
| WR Reggie Williams, Rec: 2 - 41 - 1 (3 targets) |
Williams also did well with his limited targets, gaining a first down on one reception and scoring a touchdown on another. The third target thrown to him was deflected by a defender. Williams showed good quickness and hands while getting open in the traffic over the middle of the field on both of his receptions.
| WR Ernest Wilford, Rec: 1 - 33 - 0 (2 targets) |
Wilford took advantage of his limited opportunity, as only one of his targets was catchable, and turned that pass into a 33 yard gain on a third down play.
| WR John Broussard |
Broussard was not targeted in this game, despite a solid game last week, although he did see the field briefly.
| TE Marcedes Lewis, Rec: 2 - 39 - 0 (3 targets) |
Lewis was targeted early in the game and converted his first two passes into first downs, while the third target was deflected by a defender. However although he showed good hands on route running on his receptions, he was not targeted in the second half.
| TE George Wrighster, Rec: 1 - 18 - 0 (1 targets) |
Wrighster was not involved in the passing game in the second half, and caught the only pass thrown to him.
| PK John Carney 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Carney, who was signed to replace the injured Josh Scobee, handled his return to the NFL admirably, converting a point after attempt and both field goal attempts, which were from 35 and 27 yards.
| JAX Rush Defense |
Jacksonville's rush defense responded well to their disappointing effort from the previous week by holding Atlanta's running backs to a 3.48 yards per carry average. They attacked the line of scrimmage and stopped the Falcons' runners from big gains. Even when the first defender missed a runner, there was another defender there to make the tackle almost instantaneously.
| JAX Pass Defense |
The Jaguars' pass defense was particularly effective, and applied pressure to Harrington throughout the game. They recorded seven sacks and pressured him into shorter or incomplete passes on many other occasions, usually by blitzing relentlessly and often. The one area Jacksonville's pass defenders could have improved upon was the number of yards they allowed to Atlanta's receivers after they caught short passes.
