The Falcons are playing without wide receiver Calvin Ridley on Sunday, but Olamide Zaccheaus has done his best to make sure the absence isn’t hurting Atlanta too much.
Zaccheaus caught a 51-yard bomb from Matt Ryan for a touchdown and added a 42-yard catch in the second quarter to set up a touchdown pass to Brandon Powell that extended Atlanta’s lead to two touchdowns. The Falcons would have to settle for a field goal in another trip into the red zone, but they still lead the Broncos 20-3 after 30 minutes of action.
Zaccheaus has four catches for 103 yards overall and Ryan has completed 18-of-23 passes for 216 yards. The Broncos are playing without cornerbacks A.J. Bouye and Bryce Callahan and that’s proven to be a challenge for the Denver defense despite Ridley being out of action this weekend.
The Broncos offense has not been nearly as effective. They converted a third down for the first time all day late in the second quarter and ended the half with 112 yards of offense.
Denver rebounded from a bad half to beat the Chargers a week ago and they’ll need lightning to strike twice to get another victory this week.