Revisiting Atlanta’s Win Over Jacksonville Jaguars
By Deke Lloyd
The Atlanta Falcons took care of the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday, 24-12. With the win, that makes it two in a row for the Falcons. Let’s revisit the win today.
Yesterday, I went over the Atlanta Falcons victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the more broad sense. No individual performances shouted out or called out. Just the game and what took place. Today, we can go over the game with more of a detailed approach, as detailed as a layman like me can be.
The offensive line continued their great play from last week, bringing it to this game today. Last week, against the stout 49ers defense, the Falcons offensive line only gave up two sacks. In yesterday’s game, against another team with a scary defensive front, the Falcons held the Jags to only one sack all day. The Falcons needing their offensive line to play well and protect Matt Ryan was something I touched on last week when looking ahead to this game. When a team can run out Josh Allen, Calais Campbell, and Yannick Ngakoue, any team should be fear what they are capable of doing to an offensive line. Yesterday, the Falcons did a magnificent job of keeping the pass rushers away from Ryan. This offensive line continues to get better which is a positive to take away from this bizarre season.
Speaking of the offense, Matt Ryan had a pretty pedestrian day, going 32-45 for 384 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. It was the kind of day when Ryan did enough to win the game, especially on the final touchdown drive that proved to be the touchdown to seal the game. However, by throwing for over 350 yards, Ryan crossed the 4,000-yard mark for the 9th consecutive season. That number is a testament to how consistently great Matt Ryan has been as the Falcons QB.
Devonta Freeman had himself a day yesterday. Freeman got the Falcons lead started by scrambling for a 17-yard touchdown and catching a touchdown pass from Ryan to help the Falcons get to their 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Freeman finished his day with 22 touches for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was just a great day for Freeman and a reminder to why the Falcons gave him that big contract just a few seasons ago.
One more note for today, this time on the defensive side of the ball. Vic Beasley Jr. got his 8th sack yesterday against the Jags. With one more game left, Beasley has a chance to reach double-digit sacks for just the second time in his career, the other time being when Beasley led the NFL in 2016. Regardless of whether Beasley gets to 10 sacks, he’s already having his best season outside of 2016. For the year, Beasley has 8 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits. For Vic, this is an impressive season that should see him collect a nice day during the offseason.