Atlanta Falcons: Can Run Defense Contain Peterson?

The Atlanta Falcons will have their hands full when the NFL’s leading rusher in Adrian Peterson comes to town in Week 12. Can the run defense slow down AP?

While I felt that Indianapolis was a must-win for the Atlanta Falcons in 2015, the one game I immediately circled on the Atlanta Falcons’ 2015 regular season schedule was their Week 12 home date versus the Minnesota Vikings. I suspected that this game would decide which of these two middle of the pack NFC teams would rise to make the NFC Playoffs after a two-year absence. That highly anticipated game is at 1:00 PM ET on Sunday.

What made this game so interesting was that the new coaching staff of the Atlanta Falcons combined with their supposedly soft schedule would give the Falcons more flight in 2015 than they have had since 2012. At 6-4, that still holds true. On the other side of the coin, this was the second season the Vikings would have Mike Zimmer as their head coach, Teddy Bridgewater as their starting quarterback, and most importantly a re-energized Adrian Peterson at running back.

Entering Week 12, the Vikings are 7-3 and are in control of the 1st NFC Wild Card spot. Their home loss to rival Green Bay in Week 11 gives the Packers the slight edge in the NFC North race. While the Vikings defense has been overall stout for Zimmer, the play of Bridgewater in Year Two hasn’t exactly been impressive. He’s fortunate that he’ll have a dome as soon as next year because he doesn’t have the feel of a quarterback that will succeed in Northern climates: a mediocre arm and a slight build.

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What has helped the Vikings become almost a sure-fired lock for the NFC Playoffs has been the stellar return of RB Adrian Peterson. AP as a 30-year-old leads the NFL in rushing yards (1,006) and rushing attempts (208). If you haven’t come to terms with Adrian Peterson being a once in a generational type of athletic specimen at the tailback position, you’re not watching football carefully. Who is able to carry that workload and play that well at 30?

Peterson is coming off statistically one of his worst weeks of the 2015 NFL season. He rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts versus Green Bay last week. Outside of a sloppy win over Kansas City in Week 6, if the opposing run defense keeps Adrian Peterson roughly under 100 yards rushing, the Vikings lose. Is the Atlanta Falcons’ run defense stout enough to contain AP at home?

Statistically, the Atlanta Falcons have the best run defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed (874). Though the Dirty Birds are 30th in rushing touchdowns allowed (11), they are a stout unit in yards allowed per attempt (3.6, 3rd in the NFL) and teams prefer to attack the Atlanta defense aerially because of it (9th in rushing attempts allowed, 246).

On paper this actually serves the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta allows only 79.5 rushing yards per game, compared to Adrian Peterson’s 2015 average of 100.6. The Atlanta Falcons have only allowed 100+ yards rushing in three games this season (@Dallas, Tampa Bay, @San Francisco).

The reason for why being able to stop Adrian Peterson is so important, is that Minnesota won’t admit it, but would rather not put the game in Teddy Bridgewater’s hands. Last year’s loss to the Vikings in Minneapolis, to me, was the worst showing by the Atlanta Falcons in 2014. That includes the Week 17 home embarrassment at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. It seemed like the team already new that HC Mike Smith was gone and lost all focus.

Minnesota’s crushing defeat of the Atlanta Falcons last season was essentially Teddy Bridgewater’s coming out party. How he destroyed the Falcons at home helped get him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2014. However, the with the Atlanta Falcons’ improved defense and the subtle adjustments made last week in the pass rush, I’m not sure if he has the poise or physicality to carry the Vikings on the road in the Georgia Dome against a Falcons’ team starving for a win.

Next: Atlanta Falcons' Offense: Progress Through Growing Pains?

Slowing down Adrian Peterson is the key defensively, but if Atlanta wants a chance at beating the Vikings on Sunday, the offense HAS to take better care of the football. Like the Atlanta defense, the Minnesota defense will make the offense pay for poorly thrown balls and laissez-faire ball control. The more focused team wins and hopefully it’s Atlanta. Rise Up!

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