Once running back Devonta Freeman left the game with a head injury, the Falcons’ running game pretty much went with him.
Freeman had 43 yards on three carries when he suffered the injury. Once he left after the third play of the second offensive series, the other running backs managed just 50 rushing yards on 19 attempts as the Falcons faded to a 24-21 defeat.
Falcons running back Tevin Coleman had 48 yards on 17 carries and lost his second fumble of the season. Terron Ward had two carries for two yards.
“They are a good defense,” Falcons fullback Patrick DiMarco said of the Colts. “They stacked the box against us and gave us some trouble. But there were holes out there. We hit them a few times early. Wish we would have hit them a few more times.
With their running game ineffective, the Falcons were forced to pass often even while holding a lead over the final three quarters. That limitation allowed the Colts to focus on going after quarterback Matt Ryan, who faced heavy pressure while trying to pass in the second half.
The Falcons called three passing plays and three runs with Freeman in the game and then 15 passes vs. 10 runs the rest of the half (not including two scrambles by Ryan). The Falcons had 11 passing attempts and six rushing attempts in the third quarter and 10 passes vs. two runs in the final period, not counting their final desperation drive after losing the lead.
“They definitely used a lot of men in the box and they played the run really well, and we couldn’t get any gaps or any holes to run through,” Coleman said.
Freeman’s 39-yard run around right end was the Falcons’ longest play of the game. He suffered the injury when he was tackled by Colts linebacker Trent Cole on the third play of the Falcons’ next drive.
That left the Falcons with rookies Coleman and Ward at running back.
“It’s always good to have Devonta out there but we believe in the other guys,” DiMarco said.
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