Game Preview, Week 12: Atlanta at Washington
November 26, 2022
by Steve Thomas
Well, well, well, what have we here? You mean the Washington Redskins have gone 5 – 1 in the last 6 games? Actually, no, I don’t mean that, as the Redskins were unceremoniously dumped into the Potomac River for a number of bad reasons in favor of a dumb nickname that nobody likes and that I refuse to use. Nevermind. I’ll shut up about that. What’s important here is that Washington’s performance has dramatically improved recently, and they’ve been consistently beating teams that they should beat, including the hapless Texans last Sunday. And guess what? The trend could continue this week, as the Atlanta Falcons come to town. At 5 – 6, the Falcons aren’t Texans-level bad, but they are a mediocre team this year that Washington could beat if they play to their strengths and to Atlanta’s weaknesses. What Washington team will we see on Sunday? We’ll find out together and see if Washington can actually go 6 – 1. Our game preview is below.
Game time & location: Sunday, November 27, 2022, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fed Ex Field, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: Big-100 (WBIG-FM)
Washington radio network: click here
Falcons radio network: click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 231 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831 (Wash. broad.)
Washington roster: click here
Washington depth chart: click here
Falcons roster: click here
Falcons depth chart: click here
Records: Washington 6 – 5 (home 2 – 3); Atlanta 5 – 6 (away 1 – 4)
All-time head-to-head record vs Vikings: 10 – 12 – 0 (last 10: 3 – 7; streak: 0 – 2)
Last meeting: L, October 24, 2019, 9 – 19
Early odds: Washington, -4
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Slow down the Falcons run game
Atlanta is one of the heaviest run offenses in the NFL. This season, they have run the ball on 59% of their offensive snaps, and their 361 rushes is the second-highest in the league. Furthermore, quarterback Marcus Mariota isn’t exactly burning up the NFL, and start tight end Kyle Pitts has had a somewhat disappointing second year. The Falcons have two backs, starting with 4x First Team All Pro Cordarrelle Patterson, who is averaging 5.3 yards per carry this season, as well as rookie Tyler Allgeier, who is averaging 4.5 yards per carry on 110 carries. In fact, Allgeier is the workhorse of the two. Washington needs to make containing those two the principal defensive focus this week.
Pay close attention to punt and kick returns
Patterson may be the best kick returner in the game, and in fact had a 103 yard return for a touchdown last week. As a team, the Falcons are the best punt return team in the NFL and the second-best kick returning team. This is the type of advantage that can sway games between two mediocre teams.
Increased use of the passing game
The Falcons defense as a whole is not great, but they are better against the run. In fact, they’ve given up the most passing yards in the league so far this year. They are ranked 28th in sacks and 31st in sack percentage. No one could fault Scott Turner for continuing with what’s been working for Washington in recent weeks, but the true is that the offense hasn’t been great, and this game is probably the one that merits a tweak to a more pass-heavy attack.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Kendall Fuller vs Drake London
With Kyle Pitts on injured reserve, Drake London becomes Atlanta’s top receiving target. This is a fairly good matchup for Washington’s #1 corner, St-Juste, as both London is a big target whose game isn’t speed, but rather hands and an ability to fight for the ball. However, we found out Friday that St-Juste will not play in this game, so now the matchup likely falls to Fuller. Washington’s corner room is fairly thin without St-Juste. Keep an eye out on this battle throughout the game.
Andrew Norwell vs Grady Jarrett
Jarrett already has 5.5 sacks this season, which leads the Falcons and is a pretty high number for an interior lineman. This is going to be the most important battle on Washington’s offensive line this week. Watch out for whether Jarrett can take advantage of the underperforming Norwell to put significant pressure on Taylor Heinicke.
Will Chase Young actually make his first appearance of this season this week? I’ve been mentioning this possibility for three straight weeks, and I’m tired of writing about it, so let’s hope that this is the week. If he does play, his principal opponent will be the Falcons’ left tackle, Matthews. Young has quite a bit to prove this year – he’ll be eligible for a contract extension at the end of this season. Washington would be foolish to award him with one at this point, considering the circumstances, but Young will hopefully have a chance to prove himself, starting this week against Matthews.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful NL – not listed
| Washington | Falcons |
| LB C. Holcomb, foot; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; to IR | TE F. Franks, calf; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| DE J. Smith-Williams, illness; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | RB C. Huntley, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| CB B. St-Juste, ankle, DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | OLB A. Ebiketie, arm; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| C T. Larsen, shoulder; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FL | OL C. Edoga, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| LB D. Mayo, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | DL J. Dalton, toe; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: D |
| WR D. Milne, foot; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | RB C. Patterson, NIR (rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: NL |
| TE L. Thomas, rib; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: DNP; game: Q | |
| DE C. Young, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | |
| QB T. Heincke, back; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
STEVE’S PREDICTION
Falcons will 28 – 20. Washington has been on a hot streak lately, but it’s unrealistic to think that they’ll win out this year. This game feels like a bit of a trap game to me. The Falcons have scored alot of points this season, and Washington’s offense isn’t well suited to compete in a game that has the potential to be a high-scoring affair. Sorry folks, but I think the hot streak is going to come to an end this week.
INACTIVES
WR Dax Milne
CB Benjamin St-Juste
LB De’Jon Harris
G Chris Paul
DE Chase Young
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