One of the bright spots in the Falcons 27-24 loss to the Colts was the play of running back Devonta Freeman.
On the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage, Freeman darted up the middle for a 28-yard gain.
Freeman played in two games last season after dealing with groin and knee injuries. He eventually had sports hernia surgery after having shown just glimpses of his old self. But against the Colts, the old Freeman was back. He finished with 88 yards rushing on 16 carries. He caught three of his four targets in the passing game for seven yards.
“It felt good — just the opportunity and to have those opportunities to make plays,” Freeman said. “We just got to finish strong and be able to close out the game.”
Freeman has sparkling seasons in 2015 and 2016 as he rushed for more than 1,000 yards with more than 450 receiving yards. In 2017, he was slowed by concussions.
The Falcons were pleased with Freeman’s production against the Colts. Three games into the season, there is reason for optimism.
“I thought that when we ran the ball, we ran it really well,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “I thought our offensive line did a good job. Again, when you fall behind you’re going to have to throw it some more to get back into the game. But when we did run the football, we ran it very efficiently.”
Freeman could have had an even bigger game if the Falcons hadn’t fell behind 20-3. Once behind, the Falcons had to pass to rally. Freeman rushed seven times for 65 yards in the first half.
Freeman didn’t want to take credit for his fine showing.
“It was all just execution from all 11 guys around the board,” Freeman said. “On offense, it starts with the offensive line and just execution man. Finishing runs and my God-given ability a little bit and that’s it.”
In the season-opening loss to the Vikings, Freeman rushed eight times for 19 yards and caught four passes for three yards. He missed a few holes and was clearly shaking off the rust as he had a fumble.
Against the Eagles, Freeman had 11 carries for 22 yards and caught three passes for 43 yards. In the game, Freeman caught a screen pass and rumbled for 28 yards, flashing his speed.
Freeman doesn’t believe the Falcons are far from putting things together offensively.
“Just more attention to detail and fixing the little things in critical situations,” Freeman said. “Just trying to be great so when this situation happens, we know how to overcome it. Just got to go back to the drawing board and do a lot of work.”
Freeman had no explanation for the team’s slow start on the road. The Falcons have been outscored 41-3 in the first half on the road this season.
“We gotta get better on the road,” Freeman said. “We got to win on the road and just get better. ... We already know it’s us against everybody, especially on the road. We just need to close out better.”
The Falcons know they have plenty of things to correct, but that will be made easier with Freeman rolling again.
“I think everyone is angry with not performing the way we can,” Ryan said. “The penalties, the turnovers and those types of things — we’ve had too much of that the first couple weeks of the season.”
Freeman’s backup, Ito Smith suffered a concussion and did not return against the Colts. Kenjon Barner, the team’s kickoff and punt returner, was only remaining back on the active roster.
The Falcons have declared Brian Hill and Qadree Ollison as inactive for the first three games this season. If Smith is not able to make it out of the concussion protocol, Hill or Ollison would take his spot on the game day roster.
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