"Heading into the year, this seemed like a middle-tier matchup, but it has rapidly become an obvious problem. New England is playing at a high level right now, Drake Maye looks like the best deep-ball thrower in football, and the Patriots defense has limited teams to 20 or fewer points in six of its eight matchups thus far. You do have to bake level of competition in here-the Pats have played the Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Panthers, Titans, and Saints, and actually managed to lose to the Raiders in Week 1-but it's obvious this is a team on the rise with the talent to make a real playoff push."
"If you were to ignore points scored, you would think these two teams were not terribly far apart. Indeed, the Patriots are not the best rushing team or best team at defending the pass, and you can make the case that some of their success has been due to their relatively soft schedule. But there's no point in denying that this is an excellent passing attack, very capable defense, and well-rounded team overall in ways that the Falcons are not. Atlanta's laboring to get down the field right now, useless in the red zone, and very susceptible to capable opposing rushing attacks; the surface numbers look good but the team is currently in a darker place than all that. The Patriots are, at least right now, definitely a demonstrably better team."
The Atlanta Falcons missed an opportunity to climb above .500 and now face added pressure before a difficult road game against the New England Patriots. New England is playing at a high level, with Drake Maye excelling as a deep-ball passer and a defense that has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in six of eight games. Strength of schedule factors into those results, but the Patriots appear to be a rising, well-rounded team. Atlanta struggles to move the ball consistently, is ineffective in the red zone, and is vulnerable to strong rushing attacks, especially on the road.
Read at The Falcoholic
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