Falcons running back Devonta Freeman did not find much room early.
The Rams stuffed Freeman and got to quarterback Matt Ryan in the first two quarters of the NFC Wild Card playoff game Saturday night. But the Falcons were determined to run the ball, despite the limited success, and eventual broke some long runs.
On the second play of the third quarter, Freeman found room behind left tackle Jake Matthews for a 22-yard gain.
Finally, the run game was making progress.
The Falcons’ plan to stick to run paid dividends in the 26-13 win over the Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium. The Falcons advance to play at the Eagles in a divisional playoff game Saturday.
“I’ve learn to run hard and be multi-dimensional,” Freeman said. “Outside, inside or make guys miss.”
Freeman rushed 18 times for 66 yards and was carried into the end zone for a touchdown by center Alex Mack.
“That’s never happen to me before,” Freeman said.
Running back Tevin Coleman chipped in with 40 yards on 14 carries. All together, the Falcons rushed 39 times for 124 yards, which included two kneel downs to end the game.
Teams want to average 4.0 yards per carry, but the Falcons were happy with scratching out 3.2 yards a carry against the Rams.
“I thought our offensive line played really well,” Ryan said. “That’s one of the better front sevens, better front fours, that you are going to see in this league. Their interior guys are about as good as it gets. For us to run the football the way that we did for four quarters was the reason why we won the football game tonight.”
The line bounced back after struggling in the first half.
“I’m just proud of the way they competed and the effort that they gave throughout the entire game,” Ryan said.
With a 13-10 halftime lead, the Falcons came out in the third quarter and put together a 16-play, 76-yard drive that took 8:15 off the clock. The drive stalled in the red zone and Matt Bryant kicked a 25-yard field goal.
“That was turning point,” right tackle Ryan Schraeder said. “At that point, we knew that we kind of had them on their heels. We wore them down a little bit. They fought hard until the end. But at that point, everybody realized that it was time to go.”
Freeman doesn’t believe the offense, which entered the game averaging 17 points over it past five games, had been misfiring.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been off tremendous like the media would say from last year,” Freeman said. “I definitely think that as long as we are winning and moving the chains, converting, that’s all that matters.”
After taking the 16-10 lead, the Falcons stopped the Eagles and added another Bryant field goal to go up 19-10.
“As a whole, we played a complete game,” Freeman said. “We ran the ball when we could. We passed the ball when we could. The defense made big stops. Special teams made a lot of plays. To get to next level and win that next game, we are going to have to do the same thing.”
Freeman was glad the Falcons stuck with the run even though it wasn’t very productive.
“When you are running the ball, it’s so easy to get away from it when it’s not working and the pass starts working,” Freeman said. “But I feel in the NFL you have to be balanced. You have to run and pass. I don’t care if it’s one yard here or two yards there. You always have to keep a defense on its heels.”
The linemen could sense that they were wearing the Rams down as the game progressed.
“We just decided to run the ball more,” left guard Ben Garland said. “You have to be able to run the ball to win in this league. The more you run the ball, the more you can pass the ball. They kind of play off of each other.”
The Falcons ended up with a 39-30 run-pass ratio and won the time of possession battle: 37.35 to 22:25.
“To end with a time of possession of over 37 minutes, that’s hard to do in our league,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “There was a nine minute drive to start the second half, I thought that set the tone for the second half.”
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