And this turn would be all well and good had Cleveland not been the leader in almost every rushing category in the league up to this point.
The Browns lead the league in rushing yards as well as time of possession. Let’s make it clear, though, the Falcons aren’t far behind.
Nick Chubb leads the league in rushing yards with 341 on 62 carries. He is currently averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Patterson is two spots below Chubb on the league’s leaderboard, coming in as the third-leading rusher in the league with 302 rushing yards on 49 carries. He’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
As a team, the Browns average five yards a carry. The Falcons? Right behind them at 4.9.
Cleveland has scored five rushing touchdowns. Atlanta? Four.
It’s because of all of these stats combined that this Week 4 matchup between the Falcons and Browns is shaping up to be – as Smith said – “a heavyweight fight.”
“They’re going to try to grind you down,” Smith said. “We have to be ready to go, especially in run defense. We have to tackle well. Arm tackles are not going to bring Chubb down. We have to be able to grind through this game.”
As Smith explained, it’s on both lines of scrimmage to keep the Falcons in step with the Browns rushing attack. The offense has to match – or surpass – the Browns production, while the defense has to limit it.
Someone who will play a role in this is also someone Smith said is helping the Falcons defense in a major way, but doing so subtly.
That someone is Ta’Quon Graham.
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