FALCONS’ PASS RUSH
Opp.; Sacks; Hits
New Orleans;0;0
Cincinnati;0;1
Tampa Bay;3;7
Minnesota;0;1
N.Y. Giants;1;1
Chicago;2;6
Baltimore;1;4
Detroit;0;1
Tampa Bay;4;11
Totals;11;32
For Falcons defensive end Osi Umenyiora, it’s pretty simple.
He’s been preaching about the pass rush all season, but he knew that something else had to happen first.
“Stop the run and you’re going to be able to get after the quarterback,” Umenyiora said.
In Sunday’s 27-17 win over Tampa Bay, the Falcons were stout against the run. They held running backs Charles Sims, Michael James and Bobby Rainey to 53 yards on 18 carries for a very respectable 2.9 yards per carry.
Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown wound up the leading rusher as he scrambled five times for 39 yards, including the Buccaneers’ longest rush of the game, a 15-yard gain.
With the ground game held in check, the Falcons unleashed their best pass-rushing assault of the season, finishing with four sacks and 11 quarterback hits. both season highs.
Umenyiora (1 1/2), hybrid linebacker/defensive end Kroy Biermann (1 1/2) and defensive end/tackle Jonathan Babineaux (one) had the sacks.
“Kroy probably had his most productive game of the season,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “He was one of the players we recognized for his performance. Not only against the run, he set the edge a couple times and didn’t allow ball to get outside. He put some pressure on the quarterback.”
Umenyiora and Biermann also had three quarterback hits each. Babineaux had two hits. Linebacker Paul Worrilow, safety Dezmen Southward and linebacker Prince Shembo were credited with one quarterback hit each.
The Falcons now have 11 sacks, which moved them ahead of Oakland (eight) and into 31st place in the league.
Smith believes the pass rush numbers against Tampa Bay could have higher.
“We left meat on the bone, so to speak,” Smith said. “There were other opportunities. We have to continue to improve in the area of rushing the quarterback.”
The Falcons, aligned to protect against the deep ball, did give up a lot of passing yardage underneath. McCown completed 27 of 43 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
But the Falcons ramped up the pressure as the game went along which helped to net two late interceptions.
Safety Dwight Lowery made a spectacular diving interception after cornerback Robert Alford tipped a pass. The play was initially called an incompletion but the replay official challenged and then reversed the ruling.
“I knew that I had it,” Lowery said. “I was actually kind of surprised that I had it because normally you don’t see that type of play happen. I knew that I had gotten both of my hands underneath the ball.”
Lowery got up and started running to the sidelines.
“It would have been a tragedy if that play didn’t get reviewed because I knew I had it,” Lowery said.
The Falcons defense, which had given up a late game-winning drive in its last outing against Detroit, needed that interception. If Tampa had scored, the score would have closed to 27-24 with almost two minutes remaining for an onside kick and chance to tie. The Bucs also had all three of their timeouts.
“That was a great play,” cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “Dwight just made a great diving catch. It sealed the game.”
Linebacker Paul Worrilow said: “That was huge. I knew he caught it. That was just a great reaction on the ball.”
After the offense couldn’t run out the final 1:49, the Bucs got the ball back, but safety Kemal Ishmael ended that drive with another interception.
Trufant believes an improved pass rush can help the secondary as the Falcons try to claw back into the NFC South division race.
“Like I’ve been saying, when the (defensive line) rushes, it helps us in coverage and when we cover, it helps them get pressure,” Trufant said. “It all works together.”
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