The Falcons’ rushing attack helped them defeat the Rams in Saturday’s wild-card playoff game.
They’ll need to run the ball again when they play the Eagles, who boast of the NFL’s top run defense, in the NFC divisional playoffs at 4:35 p.m. Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles’ staunch defense, which is anchored by three-time Pro Bowl tackle Fletcher Cox and Tim Jernigan, gives up only 79.2 yards per game.
When you toss out two kneel-downs at the end of the game, the Falcons rushed 37 times for 126 yards (3.4 yards per carry) against the Rams.
“That was a big deal last week because we got to kill a lot of time on the clock,” center Alex Mack said. “They have a really talented offense. If you’re running the ball that means they are not pass rushing, which was something that they do really well. As an offense, if we could lean on them that way, they had to defend against the run, and that helps you in all of the other places.”
The Falcons have been determined to run the ball in each of their past two games, to the point that they used tackle Ty Sambrailo as a third blocking tight end.
Sambrailo played seven of 73 offensive snaps (9.6 percent) against the Rams and 10 of 72 (13.9 percent) against the Panthers.
“It’s been cool,” Sambrailo said. “All you want is to get on the field and contribute. We had a tight end (Levine Toilolo) go down for the Panthers game, and I had to step in and play a little tight end because we were low personnel-wise.”
The Rams didn’t know what to make of Sambrailo and were forced to call a timeout.
“We’ve kind of just added it to the package,” Sambrailo said. “It’s been fun learning a new position and new techniques.”
When Sambrailo plays, he adds some power to the blocking on the perimeter.
“You are an open-ended tackle, but you are just bumped out a guy,” Sambrailo said. “You are a little bit wider, but it’s pretty much the same.”
The Eagles have allowed only seven rushing touchdowns. They held 10 teams to under 100 yards rushing, including the Bears, who they held to 6 yards rushing.
The first-team defense did not allow a 100-yard rusher all season. Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 103 yards against the Eagles’ backups in the regular-season finale.
“Throughout the season, we’ve established our identity as being a hard-nose, downhill team,” Sambrailo said. “We try to be consistent in how hard that we play. In the run game, we pride ourselves on that, and it’s starting to show.”
When teams start moving players closing to the line of scrimmage to stop the run, the Falcons will used their short passing game to keep them honest.
Against the Rams, quarterback Matt Ryan tossed a 1-yard pass out to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, and he rambled for 52 more yards.
“We know as playmakers, when we get the ball in our hands, that’s what we do, make plays,” Sanu said. “We are trying to create the best opportunities. ... You just have to maximize those and get as many yards per catch as you can.”
Sanu picked up some good blocks and nearly scored.
“(Tight end Austin) Hooper set a great block at the point of attack, and (guard) Ben (Garland) came out flying,” Sanu said. “(Guard Wes) Schweitzer came out flying, too. Everybody came out flying, it was good.”
Ryan said he was going to harass Sanu for not scoring a touchdown.
“I hesitated a little bit because I thought he was closer than he was,” Sanu said. “I was trying to stiff arm him, but he was a lot farther away and I couldn’t get to him. I tried to go back running again and he grabbed my arm.”
Two plays later, Ryan tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Julio Jones for the game’s final points.
The Falcons know that Cox, like Los Angeles defensive tackle Aaron Donald, is a disruptive force.
“He’s one of the more talented defensive lineman that we are going to face,” Mack said. “It’s going to real hard-hat day of work for us.”
The Eagles rely on stopping the run.
“The key is the defensive line,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said. “They are penetrators. They are up-the-field guys. Our linebackers can attack and flow fast (to the ball.) They have just done a nice job. We have incorporated our corners and safeties in the run game.”
The Eagles want to eliminate the Falcons from getting yards after the catch with their short-passing attack.
“That’s always a concern,” Pederson said. “Short quick passes, the ball is out of your hands. You are not getting to the quarterback. A lot of times you can create space for your receivers.
“When you’ve got guys like Julio and Sanu, guys who can get up the field quickly, that really, really poses a problem for your defense.”
Against the Rams, the Falcons rarely threw the ball down the field and had just 4.3 yards average depth of target, according to Pro Football Focus. The receivers created a season-high 70.6 percent of the passing yards after the catch.
“The quick passing game, Matt Ryan is very accurate with that,” Pederson said. “It’s sort of a quarterback’s best friend, that quick passing game. It’s tough to defend. We just have to be real discipline with our keys.”
About the Author
