Five things to know about the Falcons on Tuesday

August 31, 2017 Atlanta: Falcons Takkarist McKinley (from left), Adrian Clayborn, and Brooks Reed confer on the sidelines against the Jaguars in a NFL preseason football game on Thursday, August 31, 2017, in Atlanta. They will now be counted on to replace Vic Beasley, who set to miss at least one game and perhaps a few more. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

August 31, 2017 Atlanta: Falcons Takkarist McKinley (from left), Adrian Clayborn, and Brooks Reed confer on the sidelines against the Jaguars in a NFL preseason football game on Thursday, August 31, 2017, in Atlanta. They will now be counted on to replace Vic Beasley, who set to miss at least one game and perhaps a few more. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Here are five things to know about the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons on Tuesday:

1. Series record. The Falcons (2-0) are set to face the Detroit Lions (2-0) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Ford Field. The Lions lead the series, 24-12. The Falcons are 3-1 against the Lions with Matt Ryan at the controls. On Sept. 7, 2008, Ryan made his first NFL start against the Lions and guided the Falcons to a 34-31 victory.

2. Garland on defense. Backup guard/center Ben Garland played one play at defensive left tackle in the goal line defense on Sunday. Last season, Garland played 42 defensive snaps including one play in Super Bowl LI.

3. Takk attack. With Beasley out at least a week, the Falcons will turn to rookie defensive end Takkarist McKinely to play left defensive end in the team's nickel defense. De'Vondre Campbell has been playing the strongside linebacker spot in the base defense. McKinley played 44 of the 76 defensive snaps (58 percent) against the Packers. He played just 14 snaps against the Bears. McKinley had two quarterback hits against the Packers, one when he came free off a stunt with defensive end Adrian Clayborn.

4. Run defense. After giving up 125 yards and 6.6 yards per carry to the Bears, the Falcons defense held the Packers to 59 rushing yards, 3.9 yards per carry.

5. Sack attack. The Falcons sacked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers three times, extending their sack streak to 17 straight games and two straight games with three-plus sacks. The Falcons have seven sacks after two games, a pace that would gave them 56 for the season. The Arizona Cardinals led the league with 48 sacks last season.