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Raiders Vs. Falcons, Week 6: Stopping Darren McFadden key for shaky Atlanta run defense

The Falcons are among the league's worst in stopping the run, so shutting down Oakland's Darren McFadden will be crucial, writes The Falcoholic.

Jed Jacobsohn - Getty Images

The stat that looks most un-undefeated for the 5-0 Atlanta Falcons? That would be run defense. Atlanta is a terrible 27th in the league, allowing 142.8 yards a game. Washington's rookie back Alfred Morris gashed Atlanta for 115 yards last week, and a far more formidable opponent in Darren McFadden waits Sunday.

That's why SB Nation Falcons blog The Falcoholic writes that stopping McFadden is paramount:

For the first time, I think the Falcons have to make stopping the run a priority and let Carson Palmer try to beat them through the air. Given his sometimes scattershot accuracy and habit of turning the ball over, that seems like a good gamble to take.

Palmer's 89.7 rating is nothing to be scared of, nor is their middle-of-the-road 258 total yards of offense per game, but the Raiders are expected to throw a good bit -- Palmer is fourth in the league in passes attempted per game at 40.5. Meanwhile, McFadden is averaging only 50.2 yards a game.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.