We see we have the lead, can hold onto the ball and keep our defense off the field and give them a little break, we’re going to pull away with the victory.
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In the NFC South race, the Falcons (6-5) are five games behind the undefeated Carolina Panthers (11-0) with five games to play. Whether he finishes the season or not, defensive coordinator Bob Ryan will not remain on the coaching staff. One more on Sunday jumped that number to four and saw him surpass Sam Bradford as the most-intercepted quarterback in the red zone this season. This is a quarterback in his eighth season.
Palmer completed 24 of 40 passes for 271 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. This marks the first time he’s amassed 100 rushing yards in the NFL.
Like New Orleans, the Bucs’ defense has been the Achilles’ heel. Their points-allowed average of 17.6 trails Cincinnati (17.5) by an eyelash. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been at his best this year, but his receivers aren’t doing anything to help him.
“You can just feel it, the way they’re filling the holes, they’re not as happy to do it as they were in the first quarter”, Line said. Devonta Freeman should be back for Tampa Bay. The Falcons are in trouble.
Atlanta has lost five of its past six games, including four straight, and is in danger of becoming one of the few teams in National Football League history to start 5-0 and miss the playoffs. Of those losses, three of them were against teams below.
Cousins completed 20 of 29 passes for 302 yards for the Redskins (5-6), who avenged a Week 3 loss to the Giants (5-6). The Falcons took a knee which while not exciting was better than bizarro padding the pick stats for Matt Ryan. Atlanta has a top 10 passing defense.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw two more interceptions – he now has five in the past two games – and heard perhaps the loudest boos of his career from the home crowd after an interception in the end zone. Newman’s interception came in the end zone for a touchback after an Atlanta rushing touchdown was nullified by a clipping penalty. While the Vikings ended up winning, the Atlanta Falcons also had quite a bit of success on the ground, or at least one of their running backs did. They rank fourth in sacks (25) and passing yards per game (223.5). There was no play to be made there, and Ryan tried to force it anyway.
There was nothing complacent about Peterson, who was held to 45 yards – his lowest output since Week 1 – in last week’s 30-13 loss to Green Bay. Of course, the Falcons wouldn’t want to be the 14th team to be on that list.
LANDOVER, Md. – Jay Gruden’s Washington Redskins have not won two games in a row all season.
The Panthers have created a name for themselves defensively, ranking sixth best against the pass and tied for third best against the run. Roddy White led the Falcons with six catches for 60 yards. The team’s leading receiver is the tight end, Greg Olsen. They play the undefeated Panthers twice.
The Vikings were set up with the ball after the turnover and they stayed with the plan to feed AP early and often.
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The biggest ingredients in the Vikings victories have been a strong and physical defense, an offense that has avoided the critical mistakes and a power running game led by Adrian Peterson.
