This Sunday’s game is a pivotal one for the Falcons, who are a couple of losses away from facing a nigh-impossible road to the playoffs. This team has too much talent (and forgive me, too much heart) to be dismissed out of hand, but theyBrian Poole Jersey need to start winning at a very rapid clip to keep this season alive. Knocking off the Steelers would make the road ahead easier and would erase some doubts about this team, especially if they can do so decisively.That said, there are reasons to feel confident about this Falcons team heading into Week 5, and there are reasons for grave doubt. Here are one of each. Feel confident about the offense putting up pointsJoe Flacco is in the midst of a pretty impressive bounce-back year, but his 363 yards against the Steelers pass defense was one of the ten highest totals of his career. Considering he only had slightly more against the Bengals, a team Matt Ryan just finished eviscerating, things look promising for the passing attack.More broadly, this Steelers defense has not been good this year at all. They’re allowing the third-highest yards per game in the NFL, the eighth-most points, the fourth-highest number of passing yards, and the 10th-highest number of rushing yards. They’re better than the Falcons in some ways, worse in others, but the net takeaway is that the Steelers are bad on defense. Playing this one at home isn’t going to fix that against an unconscious Atlanta offense, particularly one getting back a key playmaker in Devonta Freeman.While the Falcons may not look quite as sharp away from home Authentic Deion Jones Jersey , they should have absolutely no trouble dropping 25+ points, and frankly 30+ feels like a virtual lock unless the Football Gods have some more weird stuff planned for us. The Steelers just aren’t that good defensively, and they’re unlikely to have compelling answers for Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Worry a lot about the pass defense On the flip side of things, the Steelers offense is a major concern, especially when you consider that it hasn’t even looked as good as it is capable of looking to this point.The Steelers are sixth in total yardage, tied for 12th in points scored, third in passing yardage, and 29th in rushing yardage. Minus Le’Veon Bell their ground game has been forgettable and they’ve just been airing it out. Where having a one-dimensional offense might prove to be a problem against a good defense, against Atlanta it’s a bit of a nightmare scenario.That’s chiefly because the Falcons have struggled so mightily stopping the pass, with Andy Dalton and Drew Brees torching them in back-to-back weeks. Atlanta tightened up a bit and started getting after Dalton in the second half a week ago, but they also allowed the Bengals to score four touchdowns on four tries in the first half. This Steelers attack is a huge concern.More broadly, the state of the secondary is a concern. The team’s focus on communication this week is important, no doubt, but Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford have struggled in back-to-back weeks, Isaiah Oliver is very much a work in progress, and Brian Poole’s coverage issues have been legion both as a cornerback and a safety these last two weeks. When you have to contain players like Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Vance McDonald Youth Jake Matthews Jersey , you can’t afford the kinds of lapses that have become commonplace in Atlanta, and I fear that you can’t fix all of even many of those issues in a single week.If the Falcons win this game, it will probably be because they managed a turnover or two (which isn’t outlandish) or managed to somehow hold this passing attack in check (a bit more outlandish). If they can accomplish either, it will give me hope for the rest of this season.Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Friday, Sept. 28 What better salve for a heart-wrenching divisional loss against the Saints than a win on Sunday at Cincinnati's expense? That’s our mindset as we cruise into the weekend. The Bengals and Falcons meet Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and while it’s only Week 4, this game has strong implications on Atlanta’s playoff aspirations. Grab a scalding cup of black coffee, plan to raid your local grocer’s freezer section of Skyline Chili and throw it away because that stuff’s garbage, and get amped for game day in this morning’s edition of Falcoholinks. Jeanna hits FOX 5 Atlanta Sufferer of no fools and the Falcoholic’s own Jeanna Thomas is joining FOX 5 Atlanta for a segment on its new show, Thursday Night Kickoff. For her first appearance, Jeanna solicited responses from Twitter to a seemingly simple question: What would you do to keep the injury bug away for the remainder of the season? She received less than simple answers — summoning Cthulhu, bankrolling hair restoration for Dan Quinn, complimenting Saints fans. You’re a creative bunch, for sure. Make sure you tune in to FOX 5 Atlanta every Thursday at 7:00 pm for Thursday Night Kickoff. Calvin Ridley under a microscope Did you like what you saw on Sunday from the rookie wide receiver? Unnecessary question, I suppose. Ridley was downright phenomenal against the Saints, and has injected speed and elusiveness to Atlanta’s offense. Our Allen Strk keyed in on Ridley’s game for his weekly “A Closer Look” feature, and it definitely warrants a read. Allen examined the plays where Ridley didn’t reach the end zone http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-alex-mack-jersey , but still made an impact in the game’s progression. His film breakdowns are top-level, so be sure to check out this week’s. Injury updateAs is necessary and customary around these parts of late, we take a look at the all-important injury update. The Falcons and Bengals both released their official injury reports after Thursday’s practice, and there’s some welcome good news for the Falcons. Devonta Freeman finally returned to practice, albeit in limited capacity. His status is still questionable for Sunday, and we will learn more about his availability later this afternoon. For the Bengals, A.J. Green seems good to go, while cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick was downgraded and did not participate. Safety Season The Falcons have lost both Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen for the year, so the safety position seems to be a revolving door until the team settles in on what appears to work best. Recent additions Sharrod Neasman and Keith Tandy could push for meaningful snaps soon, so Dave Choate took a deeper dive into the state of the safeties and what it means to the defense as a whole. A.J. vs. J.J. If we are to take Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis at his word, we’ve got an otherworldly wide receiver match-up slated for Sunday. Lewis told the AJC that A.J. Green is poised to start against the Falcons, marking the first time that Green and Julio Jones will meet in the NFL. This will be a fun one to watch for football fans who want to watch two of the game’s best at the apex of their respective careers. Of course, nothing is set in stone until the official inactives list comes out, but from the Bengals’ perspective Green appears ready to go.