{"id":1022978,"date":"2026-10-09T16:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1022978\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T16:18:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:18:30","slug":"falcons-no-1-rush-defense-to-face-biggest-test-to-date-in-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1022978\/","title":{"rendered":"Falcons No. 1 Rush Defense to Face Biggest Test to Date in Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Falcons<\/a> are preparing for one of their biggest defensive challenges of the season when Derrick Henry and the Baltimore Ravens arrive in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Henry has been productive through the first four games of the season, rushing for 374 yards and seven touchdowns on 89 carries. He is averaging 4.2 yards per carry and has added 44 receiving yards on seven catches. Henry is coming off a 73-yard performance against the Tennessee Titans in which he scored a touchdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Henry also has a history of success against the Falcons, rushing for 201 yards on 49 carries in two career regular season games against Atlanta. He has yet to score a touchdown in those matchups.<\/p>\n

Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich knows the defense will need to be at its best.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great challenge,\u201d Ulbrich said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some success, not saying it\u2019s been perfect by any means, but we\u2019ve had some success versus the run so far this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Falcons have the NFL’s No. 1 rushing defense<\/a> by some margin at 48.3 yards per game. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers check in at No. 2 with 72.8 yards per game. They’re closer to the No. 7 Cincinnati Bengals than they are the Falcons. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to be the best, you want to play the best,\u201d Ulbrich said. \u201cFrom that perspective, it\u2019s going to be an amazing challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry’s physical style makes him difficult to bring down, but Ulbrich also emphasized the running back’s speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDerrick Henry is one of the best, maybe ever, in that way,\u201d Ulbrich said. \u201cJust the physicality, the toughness, and then the speed that you\u2019re not ready for as he runs by you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Falcons linebacker Kendal Daniels will have a role in trying to slow Henry down, but he knows the defensive line can make the job easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur D line gets after it, and you never want to slow your defensive line down,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cSo that really helps us be able to play off them and just let them go make plays, and we play off of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ulbrich stressed the importance of Atlanta’s tackling fundamentals.<\/p>\n

\u201cPopulation of ball is critical. Stiff-arm defense is critical. A really defined tackling plan is critical,\u201d Ulbrich said. “Getting to the thigh boards, wrapping, rolling, taking the extra step, putting my body on, and not leaving my feet.\u201d<\/p>\n

There aren’t many players like Henry who have ever played in the NFL with his combination of size and speed, so it’s no surprise this will be a unique challenge for the rookie Daniels. <\/p>\n

\u201cI went to school with Ollie Gordon. So that\u2019s the closest I\u2019ve got to Derrick Henry,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve gotten closer. I feel like when I first got here, it was kind of everybody figuring out their role, and then I feel like everybody\u2019s figuring out their role. Everybody\u2019s excited for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only returning starters on the Falcons’ front seven are Brandon Dorlus and Divine Deablo. So it’s taken some time to find chemistry. That chemistry could be critical against Baltimore.<\/p>\n

For Atlanta, the goal will be to prevent Henry from getting into a rhythm. The Falcons will need disciplined run fits, strong play at the line of scrimmage, and multiple defenders arriving at the football.<\/p>\n

If they can limit Henry early and prevent Baltimore from establishing its physical identity, Atlanta will have a much better chance of controlling the game and continuing its defensive progress.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Atlanta Falcons are preparing for one of their biggest defensive challenges of the season when Derrick Henry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1022979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2052],"tags":[184,117,2282,7,6,169],"class_list":["post-1022978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baltimore-ravens","tag-baltimore","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-baltimoreravens","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-ravens"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117411860319351584","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1022978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1022978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1022978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1022978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1022978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}