Falcons defensive end Vic Beasley was a force against the Rams.
He had three sacks for 27 yards in losses, two quarterback hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a 21-yard touchdown in the 42-14 rout of the Rams on Sunday.
“I think our defense is making great strides and moving in the right direction. I think players are stepping up, even myself, I’m making great strides.”
Two of Beasley’s sacks were with one hand.
“Coach (Dan) Quinn preaches attacking the ball and we were able to get the ball back in a couple of different ways today,” Beasley said. “That just shows the hard work that we’ve been putting in is now paying off.”
Beasley got one of his sacks after steaming up the middle on a stunt, but he did most of his damage coming off the edge.
“I was just able to beat them around the edge a couple of times,” Beasley said. “I just kept going back to that edge rush and I was able to move them off the spot and was able to get a turnover there.”
Beasley’s touchdown play was spectacular.
“You’re always reaching with that off hand and being relentless,” Beasley said. Veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney predicted days like this were in Beasley’s future a while back.
“When everybody is coordinated and he’s humming the way he’s been humming lately, he’s going to be a forced to be reckoned with,” Freeney said. “Teams are going to have to figure out and game plan for him. They either have got to say, ‘hey, we’ve got to double this boy or don’t double him and he’s going to have big games.”
