PLAYER NOTES
–WR Mohamed Sanu is coming off his best receiving game since joining the club. He caught six balls for 111 yards against the Bengals, the third-most in his career.
–RB Devonta Freeman has been practicing. The club is hopeful that Freeman is close to returning from his knee contusion.
–DE Takk McKinley was able to get past a groin injury and played against the Bengals. He had three sacks, all in the second half, becoming the fifth Falcons player to accomplish the feat.
–DE Derrick Shelby continues to deal with a groin issue He missed the last two games and may still be a week away from returning.
–DT Michael Bennett was signed and added to the active roster to possibly help with the pass rush. He was a sixth-round pick by Jacksonville in 2015.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: QB Matt Ryan. He is off to another great start. Other than the opening loss to Philadelphia, Ryan has been at the top of his game. His current numbers, if maintained over a complete season, would exceed those established during his MVP campaign of 2016. Ryan has played well against AFC teams; since 2015 he’s thrown for 3,662 yards and 20 touchdowns in 13 games. His 281.7 passing yards per game is the third-highest among NFC quarterbacks with at least 10 games against the AFC. (Only Russell Wilson and Drew Brees have better numbers.) This could be a good week for Ryan to drop into go-mode, as the Steelers rank 15th in the AFC against the pass.
GAME PLAN: Look for the Falcons to play even more aggressive on defense this week. Despite possibly having as many as five starters out, Atlanta isn’t likely to become a passive team. It’s a good week to be aggressive and try to force turnovers; Pittsburgh has fumbled six times and lost four of them and the Falcons will try to get DE Takk McKinley and DT Grady Jarrett (if healthy) after Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger and try to create some turnover opportunities there. The aggressiveness up front may help continue to keep Pittsburgh’s rushing attack at bay; the Steelers rank 15th in the AFC in rushing.
QUOTES TO NOTE: Dan Quinn on the rash of injuries suffered by his team: “We will not play the role of the victim with injuries. We have a locker room full of tough-ass competitive guys. I expect us to play well and we will.”
–Quinn on the development of Blidi Wreh-Wilson: “We’ll continue to work him in a number of different roles. His versatility at both corner and nickel is really important. That’s certainly something we’ll look at more.”
–T Jake Matthews on the team moving forward: “We just need to keep working and keep getting better. We’re doing a lot of good things, but at the same time there are lot of things we can get better at. We have a formula and we just have to keep executing better.”
–CB Desmond Trufant on the status of the defense: “At the end of the day, we have to make the defense come to life. We’re being put in the right positions but we aren’t making the plays right now.”
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Falcons CB Desmond Trufant vs. Steelers WR Antonio Brown. Trufant was a little dinged last week and struggled to keep up with Cincinnati star A.J. Green. Brown is cut from the same cloth. However, reports say the veteran receiver and QB Ben Roethlisberger have had issues this spring, despite the duo hooking up for 29 receptions and three touchdowns in four games. Brown was even quoted as saying, “I can’t throw it to myself.” Such division in the ranks can only help Trufant.
–Falcons TE Austin Hooper vs. Steelers LB Vince Williams. Hooper has continued to ascend in the eyes of Atlanta QB Matt Ryan, who enjoys finding his tight end in short-yardage situations. This could become more important this week if Williams isn’t able to go after suffering a hamstring injury last week. That would leave a trio of untested players (Matthew Thomas, L.J. Fort and Tyler Matakevich) to fill in and be picked on by Ryan.