West Atlanta News

The Atlanta Falcons demonstrated a strong defensive performance against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, achieving a season-high of five sacks. Despite this achievement, the team was unable to secure a victory, ultimately losing 17-13.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris remarked, "I won't be gloating about the pass rush today. We have to go back and look at it, look at what went well, what we did better. … But just give the guys credit. They got the sacks."

The sacks were attributed to outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie with two, and one each by inside linebacker Kaden Elliss, defensive tackle David Onyemata, and defensive lineman Kentavius Street.

Elliss initiated the momentum in the first quarter with a sack for a loss of nine yards on second-and-eight in Atlanta's red zone. This play forced an incomplete pass from the Chargers who settled for a field goal instead.

Ebiketie contributed further by sacking quarterback Justin Herbert twice before halftime. His efforts led to additional field goals rather than touchdowns for the Chargers.

"Obviously the No. 1 thing everyone talks about is the sacks, and those showed up big time today for us," said Falcons safety Justin Simmons. "Those guys played their tails off, and we covered really well."

Street made his impact in the third quarter with another critical sack that led to a punt from Los Angeles after failing to convert a first down.

Onyemata completed another sack in the fourth quarter that resulted in another punt following an unsuccessful third-down attempt by Herbert.

Herbert faced significant pressure throughout the game as he took five sacks—second only to six sacks taken during Week 9 against Cleveland Browns—and completed 16 of his 23 passes for 147 yards without scoring or interception.

The Chargers struggled overall offensively rushing only 56 yards which was their second-lowest total this season after gaining just one yard more against Kansas City Chiefs previously during Week 9 loss.

Both net passing (131) and rushing (56) yards allowed by Falcons marked lowest totals given through twelve games; previous lows included holding Pittsburgh Steelers under similar conditions early season along New Orleans Saints later weeks respectively

Reflecting on potential improvements ahead future matchups Arnold Ebiketie stated “We want build momentum… Going next week why not build from performance get even more sacks? We see what can do our defense.”