28-year old WR Michael Jenkins missed the first five games of the year for the Falcons due to injury.  But he has been making up for lost time since his return to action.  In his first two games this year for the Falcons, Jenkins has caught 8 passes for 124 yards (15.5 avg).  He has now played in 94 games in his 7 years with the Falcons and he has caught 243 passes for 3,131 yards (12.9 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan can now really make other teams pay for double teaming Roddy White all the time because Jenkins is a solid WR.

26-year old RB Jason Snelling knows that he’s not going to get a lot of P.T. unless Michael Turner gets dinged up.  But he makes the most of the chances he does get.  Snelling has played in 7 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has carried the ball 61 times for 265 yards (4.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 17 passes for 101 yards (5.9 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Snelling has now played in 44 games in his first four years with the Falcons and he has carried the ball 231 times for 983 yards (4.3 ypc) with 7 TD carries.  He has also caught 55 passes for 449 yards (8.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his time in Atlanta.  I’m certain that Snelling would be a 1,000+ yard rusher if he were the main back for the Falcons or some other team so he’ll just have to bide his time until his big chance comes along.

The Falcons had to hold off the Bengals today in a old fashioned shootout.  Matt Ryan was very efficient today as he completed 24 of 33 passes for 299 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT.  Michael Turner was also very busy with 121 yards rushing on 23 carries (5.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he also caught 2 passes for 23 yards (11.5 avg).  Jason Snelling only rushed for 4 yards on 5 carries (0.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 15 yards (3.8 avg) today.  Roddy White had a monster game for the Falcons today with 11 catches for 201 yards (18.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He he lose a fumble to Adam “Pac Man” Jones that he returned for a 59 yard TD but that still didn’t put much of a damper on his day.  Michael Jenkins pitched in with 3 grabs for 25 yards in this game.  The Falcons finished up with 153 yards on 30 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 33 passes for 299 yards today.

The defense had all kinds of issues trying to stop the Bengals today.  CB Chris Owens (12 tackles), S Erik Coleman (9 tackles) and CB Brian Williams (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Falcons on D today.  The Bengals finished up with 84 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 36 of 50 passes for 385 yards today.  The Falcons are 5-2 on the season and they are sitting on top in the NFC South right now.

The Falcons have been really good at home this year as they have outscored opponents 57-21 (they are 2-0).  The Bengals had a bye last weekend and they needed the rest after getting beat in consecutive weeks by the Buccaneers & Browns.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  Michael Turner will be ready to rock against a Bengals’ D that is averaging 111.0 yards rushing on 4.4 yards per carry so far this year.  Matt Ryan should have a lot of time to throw the ball against the Bengals who only have six sacks this year.  That should give Ryan enough time to survey the field and get the ball to whoever is open among Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez or Michael Jenkins. 

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Falcons are going to try to get after Carson Palmer to force him into making some mistakes.  But the Bengals’ O-Line protects him pretty well as he has only been sacked 7 times this year.  With Christopher Owens moving into the starting lineup in Dunta Robinson’s place, Palmer is likely going to pick on him.  The Bengals have a great bunch of receivers in Terrell Owens, Chad Ocho Cinco, Jordan Shipley and TE Jermaine Gresham.  The Bengals will also try to get Cedric Benson on track so ILB Curtis Lofton is going to have his hands full this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 27, BENGALS 23

25-year old safety William Moore didn’t show much as a rookie last season as he played in 2 games and he had 2 tackles.  Moore has really stepped up this year so far for the Falcons as he is turning into a playmaker.  Moore has played in all six games for the Falcons and he has 21 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed, 3 interceptions (78 return yards), 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery so far this year.  The Falcons will continue to give Moore a lot of P.T. especially with him making so many big plays already this year.

The Falcons will be without 31-year old back up TE Justin Peelle for the next 4-6 weeks due to surgery to repair a sports hernia.  Peelle has played in all 6 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  In his three years with the Falcons, Peelle has played in 37 games in which he has caught 30 passes for 300 yards (10.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  This hurts the running game a little bit for the Falcons as Peelle is a pretty good run blocker.

The Falcons might be without 28-year old cornerback Dunta Robinson for a couple of weeks.  He got into a massive collision with Desean Jackson during the game with the Eagles on Sunday essentially knocking both of them out.  So Robinson now has a concussion.  Robinson has played in 6 games for the Falcons this year and he has 28 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 3 passes defensed.  This is a big blow to the Falcons’ pass defense as Robinson is the best corner they got.

The Falcons got ambused in Philly today!  The Eagles pushed the Falcons around all day long!  Matt Ryan completed 23 of 42 passes for 250 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also lost a fumble today.  Michael Turner didn’t have his best game either with 45 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.0 ypc).  Jason Snelling pitched in with 17 yards rushing on 3 carries (5.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 10 yards (5.0 avg) today.  Michael Jenkins (5 rec, 99 yards), Roddy White (6 rec, 83 yards) and Tony Gonzalez (3 rec, 19 yards, 2 TD grabs) led the way for the Falcons in the passing game today.  The Falcons finished up with 65 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.4 ypc) and they completed 23 of 42 passes for 228 yards.

The Falcons’ D got drilled by the Eagles’ O today.  Linebacker Curtis Lofton led the way for the Falcons on D in this game with 14 tackles.  CB Brent Grimes pitched in with 12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed today.  Safety William Moore had 4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and a interception that he returned 34 yards.  The Eagles finished up with 154 yards rushing on 38 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 29 passes for 320 yards.  The Falcons are now 4-2 on the year.

The Falcons are on a roll now having won 4 games in a row (2 of those on the road).  The Eagles have won three of their last four games but they are 0-2 at home this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Falcons have the ball:  The Eagles are giving up 125.8 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry so I think that’s where the Falcons are going to attack them.  Michael Turner (421 yards rushing, 4.5 ypc) and Jason Snelling (244 yards rushing, 4.6 ypc) could both have big games this Sunday in Philly.  The Eagles will be blitzing when they get off the team bus as they have 15 sacks and 8 INTs so far this year so Matt Ryan will have to be careful with the football.  He likes to keep the passing game short anyway so look for Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez to have solid games.

When the Eagles have the ball:  The Falcons give up 223.4 yards passing per game so Kevin Kolb will be putting the ball up a lot this Sunday.  Eagles’ QBs have been sacked 19 times this year and he Falcons have 11 this year so Kolb will have to get rid of the ball quickly.  He’s going to have to be really accurate too because the Falcons already have 10 INTs this year.  I look for Brent Celek and Lesean McCoy to be his two favorite targets in the passing game.  The Eagles will still try to force the ball to Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin down the field so the Falcons’ CBs and safeties might have chances at some big, game altering plays this Sunday.  The Falcons are only allowing 86.6 yards rushing per game but 4.2 yards per carry so Lesean McCoy should get his fair share of carries as long as he can handle the pain.

PREDICTION:  FALCONS 30, EAGLES 24