The Falcons could use an Adrian Clayborn-like performance vs. Dallas Cowboys

For one game, Adrian Clayborn was one of the most unblockable forces the NFL has ever seen.

In Week 9 seven years ago, Clayborn took down Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott six times. Clayborn had it too 3 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery while driving Atlanta Falcons to a dominating 27-7 victory in the Falcons-Cowboys opener at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Clayborn’s 6 sacks tied the Falcons franchise record for a single game. Chuck Smith had 5 sacks against the New Orleans Saints in October 1997.

Ironically, the Cowboys will visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium again in Week 9 on Nov. 3. Perhaps that will be a positive sign for the Falcons, who haven’t beaten Dallas since 2017.

In the last six seasons, The Falcons are 0-3 against the Cowboys, including 0-1 at home. The last two losses against the Dallas Cowboys were embarrassing for the Falcons in very different ways.

In 2020, the Falcons blew a 15-point lead in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter. The collapse included Atlanta failing to recover a Dallas field goal attempt in the final two minutes of regulation.

Then in 2021, the Falcons lost 43-3 to Dallas. The Cowboys dominated with former Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator.

To end that three-game losing streak against Dallas, the Falcons could certainly use a boost from their pass rush, like the one Clayborn provided against the Cowboys in 2017. Clayborn was shy of the NFL record.

On paper, the Falcons don’t have an edge rusher capable of challenging the NFL’s individual game record. In fact, Atlanta only has 6 sacks in eight games this season. The entire team combining for 6 sacks in Week 9, let alone one player, would be extremely newsworthy.

But Clayborn wasn’t exactly a prime candidate for a sack record either. In the first six seasons before his record-breaking performance, he had 20.5 sacks in 65 games.

In his 10-year career, Clayborn has had more than 6 sacks in a season only once other than 2017.

Obviously, no NFL team should ever rely on a quarterback who records 6 sacks in a game. But the Falcons will take any sign of life out of their pass rush at this point. A standout performance this weekend from a veteran like Grady Jarrett, Matthew Judon or David Onyemata would be viewed the same way Clayborn’s was seven years ago.

It would also be a view for very sore eyes.