Strong running game forces Falcons' foes to 'pick your poison'
The Atlanta Falcons passing attack gets most of the attention — and rightly so.
Matt Ryan has put up MVP-worthy numbers, finishing in the top three in all the stats that matter — completion percentage (69.9%), yards passing (4,944), and touchdowns (38). Not only did his 117.1 quarterback rating lead the league, it ranks fifth all time.
Pro Bowler Julio Jones ranked second in yards receiving (1,409 despite missing two games), while Taylor Gabriel had six touchdowns on just 35 receptions.
But teams almost never get this far being one-dimensional, and Atlanta’s running game doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves.
“We’re balanced,” said Devonta Freeman, a 1,000-yard rusher for the second season in a row.
“The pass game definitely helps us and gives us an opportunity for a run game. It’s just one of those things. We’ve got to take what we can get. If a team is trying to double Julio and double (Mohamed) Sanu and our receivers, then they’re going to have to deal with the run game.”
When Freeman says the Falcons are balanced, he doesn’t mean call a couple of running plays each quarter and call it a day. Atlanta finished fifth in the NFL in rushing with 120.5 yards per game and, unlike some other teams in that neighborhood, Ryan contributes very little to that.
Freeman was ninth in the league with 1,079 yards rushing and sixth in TDs, including a 75-yarder in the regular-season finale against the New Orleans Saints that was the longest run of his career. His running mate in the backfield, Tevin Coleman, doesn’t get nearly as many touches — he had 118 carries to Freeman’s 227 — but makes the most of them when he does, scoring eight touchdowns. The speedy Coleman is also dangerous receiver, averaging 13.6 yards per catch.
“It’s huge as far as the combination of those two guys and their ability to make big plays for us,” Ryan said after the Falcons clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a 38-32 victory over the Saints. “They have explosiveness, unselfishness and a mindset to do whatever it takes to win.”
Atlanta will need that dual threat in Saturday’s divisional-round game against Seattle. That the Seahawks will make it tough on Ryan is a given. The Legion of Boom continues to live up to its hype as the NFL’s best secondary, allowing 225.8 yards passing per game. Of the teams still playing, only Houston (201.6) was stingier.
Where the Seahawks have had trouble is with teams that are, here’s Freeman’s word again, balanced. Of the five players who rushed for 85 yards or more against Seattle this year, three did it in games the Seahawks lost or tied. Of the eight times Seattle allowed a team to have 90-plus yards rushing and 200-plus yards passing, five came in losses or ties.
Oh, and that 26-24 win the Seahawks had over the Falcons in October? Atlanta had just 52 yards rushing, matching its second-lowest total of the season.
“They’re good at everything on offense,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “They give you all the problems that anybody could give you.”
Asked about Freeman and Coleman, Carroll pointed to their ability to both run and catch. In that season finale against the Saints, they were used more like a receiver-running back hybrid, taking short passes from Ryan and using their speed and strength to turn them into big gains. Freeman ranks 13th in the NFL and Coleman 26th in total yards after the catch.
“Thankfully in this offense, I’m being utilized a lot more and given the opportunity,” said Freeman, who has seen his production jump under second-year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. “My mindset is just to take full advantage of it.”
And keep opposing defenses honest.
The key to beating Atlanta has always been stopping Ryan. But that simple formula is now a little more complicated thanks to the running game.
“When we’re clicking, we’re clicking and we’re hard to stop,” Freeman said. “Who you going to stop? Who you going to pay attention to? What you going to try and defend? Pick your poison.”
Choose wisely. Your playoff life might depend upon it.
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Follow columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour
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