The Falcons’ run defense has been full of holes for much of this season.
But against the Green Bay Packers, the run defense had one of its better outings.
The Falcons held Green Bay’s running backs to 84 yards on 27 carries for a respectable 3.1 yards per carry.
Green Bay rookie running back Eddie Lacy, who battled through an ankle injury, rushed for 65 yards on 20 carries. John Starks was held to 19 yards on seven carries.
“I felt like we kept the run game down,” Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon said.
The Falcons, who have made it a habit of letting out long gainers, held Lacy down. His longest run was an 11-yarder. Green Bay’s longest run was a 17 yard scramble by quarterback Matt Flynn.
It was thought if the Falcons defense could slow down the Packers’ rushing attack, they’d have a chance for a victory. But the offense went scoreless in the second half to waste a good defensive effort that included setting one touchdown with a fumble recovery and an 71-yard interception return for a score by linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.
The Falcons entered the game giving up 135.4 yards rushing per game, which ranked 30th of 32 in the NFL.
In their two previous outings — a loss to New Orleans and a victory over Buffalo — the Atlanta defenders missed 28 tackles, according to their coaches’ film review statistics. While they missed some tackles against the Packers, none led to a long-gainer.
Because of six scrambles by Flynn for 28 yards, the Packers were able to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark, making it the 10th straight game that a team has rushed for more than 100 yards against the Falcons.
New England (132), New York Jets (118), Tampa Bay (111), Arizona (201 yards), Carolina (131), Seattle (211), Tampa Bay (186), New Orleans (103) and Buffalo (195) have all gained more than 100 rushing yards against Atlanta.
The Falcons have not held a team under 100 yards since the third game of the season, when they limited Miami to 90 yards on 15 carries.
“We just tried to grind it out,” Lacy said. “It was going to be difficult. It was cold and it was going to be tougher for them to tackle, so we just wanted to run it as much as we could.”
Lacy scored a one-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter, the Packers’ only rushing touchdown.
It was his seventh of the season, the most by a Green Bay rookie in a season. He topped Samkon Gado’s mark of six rushing touchdowns set in 2005.
About the Author
