This battle of the unbeatens pits two of the game's top quarterbacks against each other as Matt Ryan (+10.8) and Philip Rivers (+4.0) duel to propel their respective teams to a 3-0 start.
The Atlanta Falcons opened the season with a big win in Kansas City, but their Monday Night win where they stifled Peyton Manning into three first quarter interceptions made much more of a statement. Led by Ryan and his top two receivers, they’ll feel that they can go toe-to-toe with any team in a shootout.
The San Diego Chargers won big at home last week after getting past the Raiders in Oakland to open the season and another win at home here would see them continue as early pace-setters in the AFC. It looks like they’ll see their top running back return to the starting line up and that’s one of our three key areas to focus on in this matchup.
Falcons Receivers vs. Chargers Defensive Backs
As well as having our highest-graded quarterback through the first two weeks of the season, Atlanta also boasts our top-ranked wide receiver in Roddy White (+6.5 overall). White comes into this week with 14 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown and proved too much to handle for the Broncos' defensive backs on Monday Night Football. Opposite White, Julio Jones (+0.5) struggled last week with just 14 receiving yards and two drops, but he completely took over the game in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs with two touchdowns, so it'll be hard for the Chargers to overlook him. Add to that the talents of veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez (-0.6) who may not have been up to much as a run blocker but can still get it done as a receiver. The tight end has racked up 123 yards through the air to start the season, with a touchdown catch in each game.
For San Diego, cornerback Quentin Jammer (+2.0) has started the season positively, allowing just 61 yards through the air. Targeted 11 times, he has allowed just 13 yards after the catch on six receptions, with none going for more than 16 yards and none reaching the end zone. Fellow starter Antoine Cason (+0.3) may have allowed more yards through the air (91) and a touchdown in his coverage, but he has also got his hands on more passes than Jammer, intercepting one and deflecting another two. The real star of the Chargers’ defensive backfield, however, has been, as always, safety Eric Weddle (+3.2). Giving up a mere 17 yards through the air after two weeks, Weddle intercepted the only pass thrown his way against the Tennessee Titans last week.
Falcons Defensive Ends vs. Chargers Offensive Tackles
One area of concern for Atlanta, especially heading into a game against a quarterback like Rivers, has been the lack of pass rush from their defensive ends. Kroy Biermann (-2.1) has generated just a single hit and two hurries on the 61 times he has rushed the passer thus far — something that won’t exactly strike fear into opposing offensive linemen. John Abraham (-0.2), who played well enough last season to be our third-highest-graded 4-3 defensive end, has also struggled with just a sack, a hit, and a hurry to show for his pass rushing efforts (though he has drawn two holding penalties). Last season’s disappointing free agent acquisition Ray Edwards (-0.5) has continued to underwhelm too with just a hit and two hurries to his name and when you combine the three you’ll see they have registered just a sack, three hits, and five hurries between them.
The good news for Atlanta is that left tackle Jared Gaither is still out injured, leaving undrafted free agent Michael Harris (-7.0) to protect Rivers’ blind side. Harris looked good in Week 1, giving up just a single hurry in pass protection, however, he was poor against the Titans as he allowed a whopping 10. He’s yet to allow his quarterback to be knocked down, but he’ll have to do better than that this week. On the right side, Jeromey Clary (-3.5) continues to let Rivers hit the turf at an alarming rate. He too had a solid outing in the season opener with just two hurries given up, but that good work was overshadowed by a performance last week that saw him allow three sacks, a hit, and three hurries.
The Return of Ryan Mathews
All signs point to a return to the line up this week for San Diego running back Ryan Mathews (+5.3 in 2011). The Chargers' running game has missed the former first-round draft pick as they currently average a disappointing 3.1 yards per carry and have forced just three missed tackles. They have yet to break a run for more than 17 yards and this is where Mathews can impact the most as he had eight games last season with a run of at least 20. He forced 30 missed tackles in 2011 and was a valuable outlet receiver for Rivers with 50 receptions for 455 yards.
Atlanta has struggled against the run this year, allowing 270 yards on the ground through the first two weeks of the season and they don’t have a defensive linemen with a grade above +1.0 in that aspect. They do, however, have the impressive Stephen Nicholas (+4.5) who leads the team with 11 defensive stops. Next to him at linebacker, Sean Weatherspoon (+4.1) is second on the team with eight and is emerging as one the league’s top outside linebackers. They’ll look to limit Mathews' ability to break a long run on Sunday, something that would go a long way to helping the Falcons to securing that 3-0 record to start the year.
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