Falcons lead Commanders at halftime: Four quick takeaways from the first half

Four takeaways from an ugly first half for the Commanders.

Things could not have started any better for the Washington Commanders in their Week 17 showdown with the Atlanta Falcons. Washington safety Quan Martin intercepted Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and returned it into Falcons’ territory.

Quarterback Jayden Daniels took care of the rest, ending the drive with a short touchdown pass to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus.

From there, things went downhill. The Falcons scored two touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead and ended the half with a field goal to take a 17-7 lead into halftime.

Here are four takeaways from what went wrong in the first half for Washington.

Penalties

Penalties were a problem against the Eagles last week, as Washington was penalized for 93 yards. In the first half against Atlanta, the Commanders were penalized six times for 50 yards. One of those penalties proved extremely costly, as cornerback Mike Sainristil lined up in the neutral zone on Atlanta’s first field-goal attempt. It wiped out the field goal and continued the Falcons’ drive. Other penalties, including two holding penalties, pushed the offense back.

Tyler Biadasz injury

Tyler Biadasz has been the Commanders’ best offensive lineman this year, stabilizing the center position. When he missed a game earlier this season, the dropoff was noticeable. Biadasz had to be helped off the field late in the second quarter, and it did not look good.

More McLaurin

Terry McLaurin received one target in the first. He caught the pass for five yards. It’s a broken record, but Washington’s offense works best when it runs through McLaurin. Feed him the ball. Olamide Zaccheaus has been excellent again, but McLaurin needs multiple targets on the Commanders’ first drive coming out of halftime.

Can’t stop the run

The theme of this season is Washington’s inability to stop the run. Saquon Barkley ran all over the Commanders last week, but the defense tightened up in the second half. We are likely to see Washington selling out to stop Robinson in the second half, which means a lot of one-on-one matchups for the secondary. That’s probably not ideal, considering the Commanders’ secondary issues.

The Falcons rushed for 101 yards in the first half, with Robinson rushing for 82 and two touchdowns.

4 best player prop bets for Commanders vs. Falcons in Week 17

The best player prop bets for the Commanders and Falcons in Week 17.

The Washington Commanders will play the Atlanta Falcons in a Week 17 matchup at Northwest Stadium. This game features a pair of rookie quarterbacks, with Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr.

Daniels should win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award by a landslide, while Penix is making his second career start. Penix has plenty of weapons, such as running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London.

This game could feature plenty of scoring, making it perfect for some player prop bets.

Here are our four favorite player props for Commanders-Falcons this Sunday, with all odds via BetMGM.

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Bijan Robinson anytime TD scorer (-190)

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson (7). Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Robinson has 11 total touchdowns on the season, including 10 rushing touchdowns. He’s scored touchdowns in four of the last six games and multiple touchdowns in two of those four games. Washington’s run defense is among the worst in the NFL. It’s a good bet that Robinson finds the end zone on Sunday.

Jayden Daniels’ longest rush attempt over 14.5 yards (-125)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5). Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Jayden Daniels is back to scrambling for first downs after a brief time where he didn’t use his legs as much. Last week, he converted two fourth downs, including one 29-yard run that changed the game. Daniels may not post huge rushing numbers, but you can bet he’ll pick up a first down or two with his legs. He’s had a run of 23 yards or longer in three of the last four games.

Terry McLaurin over 100 receiving yards (+320)

Terry McLaurin #17 of the Washington Commanders celebrates. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Terry McLaurin is having a career year. He has 12 touchdown receptions, which is third in the NFL. One more touchdown, and he sets a new franchise record. McLaurin and Daniels seemingly connect for one or more big plays every week. The Falcons have struggled against the pass. Washington has some injuries at receiver, so McLaurin will see plenty of targets, making this a smart bet.

Zach Ertz over 33.5 receiving yards (-120)

Zach Ertz #86 of the Washington Commanders catches a pass against Reed Blankenship #32. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Ertz caught one pass for 12 yards last week. However, he was coming off a concussion. He’s 100% healthy now and could be in store for a big game against Atlanta. He will receive multiple targets, making him a good bet here.

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson hits yet another milestone in Week 16

Falcons RB Bijan Robinson hits another franchise milestone in Sunday’s win over the New York Giants

It has been quite the season for Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, and the Texas product continued to roll during Sunday’s 34-7 win over the New York Giants. Just minutes into the game, Robinson had already broken another record.

In addition to becoming the first Falcon to reach over 10 rushing touchdowns in a single season since 2010, he also became the fastest player (32 games) to reach 3,000 career scrimmage yards since William Andrews (31 games) did it back in 1980.

And don’t forget the fact he’s the first member of the Falcons since Warrick Dunn back in 2005 to record 100 scrimmage yards on 11 occasions in a season.

It’s almost hard to believe Robinson is already on such a historic track in just the second NFL season, but he is simply everything he was advertised to be as a prospect. He’s only followed through and built upon it.

Robinson finished the game with 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. He also made an impact out of the backfield as he so often does, catching two passes for nine yards.

“Bijan has been outstanding all year, the things he’s able to do, he’s special.” Morris added that Robinson may be receiving even more attention right now than he currently is if it were not for the success “that other guy in Philadelphia” is having right now, in reference to standout Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.

The Falcons will face the Washington Commanders in prime time next Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET. The game will air nationally on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”

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Giants vs. Falcons: 3 best prop bets for Week 16

The New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons face off on Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Here are three prop bets to consider.

The Atlanta Falcons (7-7) host the New York Giants (2-12) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this Sunday in a game that the Falcons need to win to stay alive in the NFC Playoff picture.

Oddsmakers initially made Atlanta 10-point favorites. That number has been bet down to 8.5 points during the week. The over/under has held steady at 42 total points and the money line is currently Giants +350, Falcons -450.

For bettors, there’s money to be had in every game and this game is no different. If you don’t like the lines or the over/under, you can bet a few props, which we will give you our top 3 below.

What you need to know before you bet…

The Giants had a total of 21 players listed on their injury report on Thursday. They have lost nine straight games and have not scored over 29 points in a single game this season. In fact, they’ve only scored over 20 points four times.

The Falcons have averaged 16.3 points per game over their last three and decided to make a switch at quarterback, benching veteran Kirk Cousins for rookie Michael Penix Jr. They are one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South and have won both meetings with them this season.

Here are our top 3 props for this game, per BetMGM.

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Falcons RB Bijan Robinson OVER 125 total rushing/receiving yards (-105)

This matchup was tailor-made for the versatile, explosive Bijan Robinson, who has rushed for over 90 yards in four of his last five games and now faces a Giants defense that is allowing 143.7 yards per game on the ground this season. With a rookie quarterback under center (Penix Jr.) making his first NFL start, it just makes sense the offense will run through Robinson even more this week.

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Giants WR Malik Nabers OVER 6.5 receptions (-100)

The Giants have been targeting Malik Nabers pretty well this year. He ranks fourth in the NFL in targets and he’s missed two games. But catchable targets are what count. Nabers knows he will be asked to make the contested catches — and he’s been doing that — but he’s also dropped a ton of passes. That aside, they will pepper him again this week. Last week he caught 10 of 14 targets. He should be able to do that again this week.

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Giants RB Devin Singletary anytime TD scorer (+425)

The Giants heard Devin Singletary’s grips about not getting the football last week and upped his usage last week. If they continue to buy into him, he could see a goal-line touch here that gets him into the end zone.

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NFL rushing leaders (including Bijan Robinson) entering Week 16

2024 NFL rushing leaders: Falcons RB Bijan Robinson enters top 5 in rushing yards

The Atlanta Falcons will officially begin the Michael Penix Jr. era in Week 16, but another former top-10 pick is having quite the season. Second-year running back Bijan Robinson has earned his spot among the NFL’s elite rushers.

In Week 15, Robinson carried the Falcons to victory with 125 rushing yards on 22 attempts. This was enough to put Robinson over 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the first time in his NFL career. Atlanta’s last player to top the 1,000-yard mark was Tyler Allgeier during his rookie year in 2022.

Robinson still has three more games to add to his total. Check out where the former Texas Longhorns star ranks among the league’s top 32 running backs entering Week 16.

2024 NFL rushing leaders: Top 32

  1. Saquon Barkley: 1,688 yards
  2. Derrick Henry: 1,474 yards
  3. Josh Jacobs: 1,147 yards
  4. Kyren Williams: 1,121 yards
  5. Bijan Robinson: 1,102 yards
  6. Jahmyr Gibbs: 1,047 yards
  7. Chuba Hubbard: 1,043 yards
  8. Tony Pollard: 982 yards
  9. Aaron Jones: 979 yards
  10. James Conner: 973 yards
  11. Alvin Kamara: 950 yards
  12. Jonathan Taylor: 911 yards
  13. Joe Mixon: 910 yards
  14. Najee Harris: 891 yards
  15. Rico Dowdle: 880 yards
  16. Bucky Irving: 852 yards
  17. Chase Brown: 832 yards
  18. James Cook: 828 yards
  19. D’Andre Swift: 821 yards
  20. Jordan Mason: 789 yards
  21. David Montgomery: 775 yards
  22. J.K. Dobbins: 766 yards
  23. Rhamondre Stevenson: 740 yards
  24. Breece Hall: 722 yards
  25. Brian Robinson Jr.: 705 yards
  26. Tyrone Tracy Jr.: 695 yards
  27. Kareem Hunt: 653 yards
  28. Tank Bigsby: 644 yards
  29. De’Von Achane: 641 yards
  30. Rachaad White: 573 yards
  31. Tyler Allgeier: 551 yards
  32. Kenneth Walker: 542 yards

The Falcons will host the New York Giants in Week 16. Penix, who’s appeared in two games this season, will make his first start of the year against the two-win Giants at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Sunday’s game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.

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Giants vs. Falcons: 4 causes for concern in Week 16

The New York Giants square off in a Sunday afternoon battle against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. Here are four causes for concern.

The New York Giants will take their nine-game losing streak on the road this Sunday as they face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16.

The Giants opened up as double-digit road underdogs earlier this week despite the Falcons coming off a performance where they struggled against a two-win Las Vegas Raiders team — the only team currently slated to pick ahead of the Giants in the 2025 NFL draft.

Meanwhile, the Giants are coming in losers of nine-straight games and have struggled mightily since the benching and eventual release of quarterback Daniel Jones.

Here are four causes for concern going into Week 16.

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Falcons running game

Stopping the run has been a problem for the Giants all season long. They are the 31st-ranked team when it comes to opponents’ yards per rush and 26th in opponents’ rushes per game. The Falcons rank 7th in the league in rushes per game. With the Falcons turning to rookie Michael Penix on Sunday, expect a heavy dose of the Falcons running game led by Bijan Robinson.

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Kyle Pitts

In recent years, the Giants have really struggled against opposing tight ends. This season, that has not really been an issue until recently. The Giants have given up a touchdown in two straight games and in three of their last five games to opposing tight ends. With the rookie getting his first start at quarterback, he may look for tight end Kyle Pitts early and often against the Giants.

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Michael Penix gets his first start

The Giants had plenty of tape to prepare for Kirk Cousins going into Sunday. However, with the Falcons turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr., there isn’t much pro tape for the Giants to study to prepare for the Falcons rookie.

Penix may be out to prove that the Giants made a big mistake passing on him in the 2024 NFL draft. Many had speculated that Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams was coming into the league in the best position for a rookie quarterback given the weapons around him. However, the situation Penix enters in Week 16 for a team with an outside chance of making the playoffs is a strong one in itself, especially against the Giants defense.

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Giants injury report

The Giants are down to the backups for the backups at many positions at this point in the season. With a laundry list of players on the injury report for Big Blue on top of those already on season-ending injured reserve, the Giants are thin at players at many of their positional units. That does not even mention the constant flipping of quarterback between Drew Lock and Tommy DeVito as the Giants turn back to Lock this week.

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Fantasy Football: Potential bargains, must-plays from Giants-Falcons game

Here’s a look at some potential bargains for daily fantasy from the New York Giants-Atlanta Falcons Week 16 game on Sunday afternoon.

The Atlanta Falcons (7-7) host the New York Giants (2-12) in Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season in a game that has some postseason interest from the Atlanta side.

The Giants have been a mess offensively this season and are averaging a league-low 14.9 points per game.

The Falcons haven’t been a whole lot better (20.9 PPG) but believed they may have solved their issues by benching underperforming quarterback Kirk Cousins for their 2024 first-round pick, Michael Penix Jr.

The game is indoors at the Mercedes Benz Stadium, so weather should not be a problem. The Falcons are on a short week, having played in Las Vegas on Monday night.

The Giants are on a nine-game losing streak and have an injury list you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. That’s made it tough to handicap Giants games this year, especially since they’ve had four different quarterbacks throw passes this season, tying the franchise high.

Here are three fantasy streamers to consider in this game.

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Falcons RB Bijan Robinson

The Giants have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to running backs this season and now face one of the NFL’s top young runners in Bijan Robinson. The former Texas standout ranks 6th in FPS per game among running backs this season and there’s no way the battered Giants’ defense is going to contain him for 60 minutes.

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Giants WR Malik Nabers

Flip the script here as the Falcons have allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Malik Nabers, regardless of who plays quarterback for the Giants this week, should see plenty of footballs thrown his way on Sunday. Only Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb (144) has seen more targets than Nabers (140) this season and Nabers’ 90 receptions are fourth-best among wide receivers this year.

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Falcons Defense

We’ve already mentioned the Giants’ inability to score, which is one positive for the Falcons’ defense this week. Atlanta is coming off a solid showing against the Raiders with 20.0 FPS on DraftKings last week. They have been getting to the quarterback of late with four or more sacks in three consecutive games. The Giants have had only one turnover-free game this season and have allowed 3.7 sacks per game over their last three.

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Falcons RB Bijan Robinson hits major milestone vs. Raiders

Falcons running back Bijan Robinson hit another major milestone on Monday.

Another day, another milestone for Falcons standout Bijan Robinson.

Atlanta’s second-year running back hit an especially big one during Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, surpassing the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his NFL career.

Robinson had entered the game with 977 yards. This is quite the feat not only for Robinson but for a Falcons player in general.

The last player in the franchise to reach that mark was in 2022 when Tyler Allgeier finished out his rookie season with a total of 1,035 yards. Robinson is well on his way to exceeding that mark.

He is second among NFC running backs with a total of 401 receiving yards, frequently showcasing his versatility that makes him such a strong running back in the modern era.

Robinson also is No. 3 among all conference players, regardless of position, with 1,378 yards from scrimmage over the course of 13 games. He also ranks second among all NFC rushers in total receiving yards.

He continues his case as a strong Pro Bowl candidate and one of the best assets the Falcons have to help them out of their current slump.

As of midway through the second quarter, Robinson had carried the ball nine times for 54 yards as the Falcons led the Raiders, 7-3.

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Staff predictions for Chargers vs. Falcons

Find out who the Chargers Wire staff is picking between Los Angeles and Atlanta in Week 13.

The Los Angeles Chargers kick off Week 13 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Who is going to come out victorious?

Here is a look at the predictions from each of our writers at Chargers Wire:

Gavino:

The Chargers look to bounce back after losing to the Ravens last Monday. Los Angeles enters this game on a short week, while the Falcons come into this one well-rested after their bye. Offensively for the Bolts, I expect Justin Herbert to shred a Falcons defense that has struggled against the pass. On the other side of the ball, I see Jesse Minter’s unit getting back on track after surrendering 57 points combined in the last two weeks. Kirk Cousins is not on the same level as Joe Burrow or Lamar Jackson. Bijan Robinson is also no Derrick Henry. Chargers 27, Falcons 21

Alex K:

Atlanta’s defense doesn’t have the resources to compete with Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey if both come out sharp, but the Falcons offense is getting healthier and has been effective moving the ball this season. Expect a fairly high-scoring affair that the Chargers can pull out with some key plays on special teams. Chargers 30, Falcons 23

5 Falcons players to watch in Week 13 vs. Chargers

The Falcons have several dynamic playmakers on both sides of the ball that could present problems for the Chargers in Week 13.

The Falcons made some big splash moves last offseason, and for the most part, it has paid off. Atlanta leads the lowly NFC South by two games with a 6-5 record.

The Falcons host the Chargers for a huge Week 13 matchup this weekend. Both teams are in the thick of the playoff races in each conference, with Los Angeles likely destined for a Wild Card spot.

Here are five Falcons players that the Chargers must keep an eye on for:

RB Bijan Robinson

Defensive coordinators don’t get the best sleep when they realize they face Bijan Robinson on Sunday. The Texas product is already one of the most dynamic players in the league in just his second NFL season. He has averaged 103.8 scrimmage yards per game this season and seven total touchdowns. He’s also a dynamic threat out of the backfield, as he’s caught 45 passes, fourth-most amongst running backs.

TE Kyle Pitts

Now that Atlanta finally has a competent quarterback, Pitts has been better in 2024. Through 11 games, he has 35 catches for 494 yards and three touchdowns. He’s had just one catch in two of his last three contests, so the Falcons may make it a point of emphasis to get him involved early. Pitts presents a matchup issue due to his unique speed/size combination, and the Chargers will likely use Derwin James to try and slow him down.

OG Chris Lindstrom

Lindstrom has evolved into one of, if not the best, guard in the league. He dominates the line of scrimmage for the Falcons offense, which opens up big lanes for Robinson in the run game. The Chargers defensive line has been stellar recently, so this is another key matchup to watch in Week 13.

LB Nate Landman

Landman has appeared in just seven games, all starts, for the Falcons this season. He’s made quite an impact, though, with three forced fumbles and 52 total tackles in those starts. The undrafted linebacker has made 21 starts over the last two years and has become a legitimate contributor for Atlanta. The Chargers must protect the ball, particularly around Landman.

S Jessie Bates

The Falcons signed Bates to a four-year, $64 million contract in 2023, and he’s been worth every penny. The seventh-veteran has become arguably the best safety in all of football. In 2024, Bates has 70 tackles, two interceptions, six pass deflections, and a career-high four forced fumbles. He’s well on his way to earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, and the Chargers must make sure Bates does not take over the game on Sunday.