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Entering their game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Atlanta Falcons had experienced a lot of offensive success in their home - Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta has generally been strong offensively in the Matt Ryan and Julio Jones era, especially dating back to 2016 when they appeared in Super Bowl LI. That success has continued two years later although it hasn’t necessarily translated into wins.
Dallas was the sixth home game of the season for the Falcons and the first in quite some time. Overall, they fared poorly on offense versus the Cowboys compared to how they did when playing the five other teams at their home stadium.
Falcons Offensive Performance At Home in 2018
| Opponent | Total Yards | Time of First TD | Total Points Scored |
| Carolina Panthers | 442 | 4:08 in 2nd | 31 |
| New Orleans Saints | 407 | 3:12 in 1st | 37 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 495 | 10:33 in 1st | 36 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 417 | 8:29 in 1st | 34 |
| New York Giants | 423 | 5:00 in 2nd | 23 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 354 | 1:52 in 4th | 19 |
The most impressive statistic here is perhaps the time of first touchdown. You can see that Atlanta got into the endzone relatively early (at least in the first half) against their other five opponents at their stadium this season. It took past the fourth quarter’s two-minute warning for them to do it against the Cowboys and it took the entire might of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
The Falcons had scored at least 30 point in 80% of their home games before Sunday, yet they didn’t even break 20 against Dallas. Matt Ryan had thrown for at least 300 yards in four consecutive games (including road contests) yet didn’t eclipse that mark against the Cowboys. While they’ve had their share of hiccups there’s no denying it anymore, the Dallas Cowboys defense is legit.
There are a few remaining offenses on the Cowboys schedule that will be some work for this group. The New Orleans Saints obviously stand out and even the Indianapolis Colts have come on as of late.
Dallas just showed they were worth their toughest match yet, though. They went into the house of offensive dominance and shut it down. That’s a big ol’ deal.