Erik McCoy has spent plenty of time as the steadying force in the middle of the New Orleans Saints offensive line, and Monday night puts him in a spot that centers don’t always get defined by. His job won’t just be about protection in the usual sense. He’ll be a major piece in slowing down an Atlanta Falcons pass rush that does its best work from the inside.
That’s the wrinkle with this matchup. Pass rush is usually framed as an edge-versus-tackle battle, but Atlanta has found real production between the tackles. The Falcons’ top two edge rushers, James Pearce Jr. (suspension) and Jalon Walker (torn ACL in training camp), are unavailable to start the season, yet the interior line has still carried the load.
And it’s not coming from a name everyone knows. Gervon Dexter leads the Falcons with 15 pressures, and that total ties him with Jeffery Simmons for the most in the league by an interior defensive lineman. Right beside him is Brandon Dorlus, who has been every bit a part of the problem for opposing offenses.
Together, Dexter and Dorlus have combined for 27 quarterback pressures from the interior, the most by an interior defensive line duo in the NFL. That’s the kind of number that changes how an offense has to operate.
For New Orleans, McCoy is built for this assignment. According to Pro Football Focus, he owns the second-best pass block win rate in the NFL among all offensive linemen and is winning 97.3% of his pass rush snaps. That makes him the Saints’ best answer to a Falcons front that wants to win inside.
The key matchup is easy to spot: McCoy against Dexter or Dorlus. That’s where this game can tilt. Good-on-good battles tend to decide nights like this, and this one has that feel.
There will also be snaps where McCoy isn’t dealing with a direct threat and can help elsewhere, especially if Atlanta stays out of blitz looks. In those moments, he’ll need to be alert for David Edwards and Cesar Ruiz, because Dexter and Dorlus are the Falcons’ most effective interior rushers and extra help could matter.
The Saints have already seen what interior pressure can do. In last week’s loss, the first two turnovers came from pressure reaching Tyler Shough. Even when it doesn’t create a giveaway, that kind of push from the middle can wreck the rhythm of an offense in a hurry.
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Kyle Pitts has not piled up much production yet, but the Saints cannot afford to treat him like a quiet part of the Falcons offense. His size and movement skills still force defenses to account for him, and with Atlantas offense looking more efficient, the possibility of a bigger role feels real. For New Orleans, the challenge is less about what Pitts has done so far and more about whether the Saints can find a coverage answer before he becomes the kind of problem that changes the game. [Read more 🡒]