A weekly look at what the Atlanta Falcons must fix:

As the Falcons get prepared for Sunday's road trip to face the New York Giants, they'll need to pack a stout run defense with them -- if that's at all possible.

Right now, the Falcons rank 28th in the league against the run, yielding 153.5 yards per game. The fact that they can't stop the run has contributed to them being unable to put opponents in third-and-long situations. As a result, they've been unable to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks and rank second to last in the league in sacks per pass play.

One play in particular during Sunday's 41-28 loss at Minnesota was symbolic of the Falcons' run-stopping woes. In the second quarter, the Vikings faced first-and-10 from their own 8-yard line. Strong safety Kemal Ishmael was down in the box initially to load up, but he dropped into coverage at the snap. As Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater handed off to fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon, linebacker Joplo Bartu shot through the gap toward McKinnon but got blocked to the ground by Vikings center John Sullivan. The momentum of run-stuffers Paul Soliai and Tyson Jackson was going to the left, which then left the middle open for McKinnon. Paul Worrilow was the last line of defense before McKinnon got into the open, but Worrilow got blasted to the ground by Vikings fullback Jerome Felton.

Missed tackles by Ishmael, Robert Alford, Dwight Lowery and Kroy Biermann followed as McKinnon cut all the way across the field for a 55-yard run. Fortunately for the Falcons, the end result was a missed 49-yard field goal by Blair Walsh.

Regardless, the defensive blunders and lack of physical play are what the Falcons need to avoid if they want to be respectable on defense. And there needs to be a quick fix because the Falcons face the NFL's third-leading rusher Sunday in Rashad Jennings, then they'll contend with their first elite running back this year when Matt Forte and the Chicago Bears visit the Georgia Dome on Oct. 12.