Falcons to be without at least three starters against Bucs
Nate Landman, Kaleb McGary, and David Onyemata all missed practice on Friday for the Falcons, and soon after they were all ruled out for Sunday’s pivotal matchup with the Tampa Bay Bucs
As Rothstein notes, the Falcons could also be without three other critical pieces in Jeff Okudah, Drew Dalman, and AJ Terrell.
For a team that’s already without Grady Jarrett for the season, David Onyemata is a massive loss. Combined with the fact that LaCale London also won’t be activated, the Falcons will be extremely thin across the defensive front, relying heavily on Kentavius Street, Ta’Quon Graham, and Albert Huggins.
Nate Landman is also a huge loss. He’s been a revelation at the linebacker position since stepping in for the injured Troy Andersen. Now, Andre Smith, who relieved Landman after he left with the injury versus the Jets, is set to get the start. Smith hasn’t played much this year, but he did recover a fumble last week. He’ll have to step up in a big way this Sunday behind a battered defensive line.
Storm Norton will get the start in place of Kaleb McGary, and he’ll be tested this week against a stout Tampa Bay defensive front. However, Norton held up well against an even better defensive line last week in New York.
Hopefully, both Okudah and Terrell are ready to roll on Sunday or it could be a long day for the defense. Clark Phillips and Tre Flowers played well last week against the Jets, but the Bucs receivers are a totally different beast, and while Baker Mayfield isn’t a top 10 quarterback, he’s miles better than Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian.
The Falcons have played a lot of games this season where they’ve held the health advantage. But in the biggest game of the season to date, one that could give them a stranglehold on the NFC South, they’ll be at a severe disadvantage, particularly defensively. It could be a high scoring affair in Atlanta.
