Atlanta Falcons head coach coach Mike Smith has challenged his players to halt the Green Bay Packers' running game when the two sides meet on Sunday.

Smith said that, in particular, the Falcons defense would have to double up on Eddie Lacy to stop him gaining yards with the football in his arms.

"We've got to try to stop their run game; I'll talk about that first," Smith told the club's official website. "Lacy is a big, strong back that doesn't go down easily. I have not seen him taken down by a single tackler very often.

"He is a guy that is going to take two or three guys. Kahlil Bell, he's a guy that runs with good body lean, good power, not a burner but has enough speed to take it the distance. They've done a very good job, not only running him, but slowly getting involved catching screens out of the backfield.

"It is going to be a challenge for us, because we have not defended the run not nearly as well as we need to. We've got to make sure that we fit it up, don't have any misfits and have multiple guys at the ball carrier."

Smith has been in charge of the Falcons since 2008.