Fox Sports: Falcons have NFL’s best RB tandem

The Falcons have the NFL's best backfield duo in Tevin Coleman (left) and Devonta Freeman going into the 2017 season, according to Fox Sports.   Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: ccompton@ajc.com

The Falcons have the NFL's best backfield duo in Tevin Coleman (left) and Devonta Freeman going into the 2017 season, according to Fox Sports. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

The Falcons backfield tandem of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman represents the NFL's best backfield situation, according to Fox Sports' Cameron DaSilva.

DaSilva ranked the NFL’s top 12 running back situations, and the Falcons’ duo that helped the team finish fifth in the league in rushing last season came out on top.

“The Falcons can line up Freeman as a single back while splitting Coleman out wide as a receiver, or vice versa,” he wrote. “All that puts the defense in a bind, keeping defenders honest when diagnosing the play.”

Freeman got roughly twice as many carries (227 to 118) and yards (1,079 to 520) as Coleman did in 2016, but Coleman carried the ball at least 8 times in all but three games.

Among the Falcons’ NFC South rivals, the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints came in at No. 8 and No. 10, respectively, in DaSilva’s rankings.