Devonta Freeman arrived at AT&T Stadium on Sunday with an unsightly 2 yards per carry average and a role as the Falcons’ featured back only because of starter Tevin Coleman’s cracked rib.
He left with by far the best game of his brief pro career and a huge jolt of confidence — for himself and his team.
Freeman’s 30-carry, 141-yard, three-touchdown performance in the 39-28 victory over Dallas not only blew away his previous career highs — 12 carries, 38 yards and one TD — it added a dimension to the Atlanta offense that has often been missing in recent years.
“He’s just one of the most relentless competitors one our club,” coach Dan Quinn said. “For us to have the run game going … for us to demonstrate some toughness and to finish, Devonta really brought that out today. And it’s good to see.
“For us, I don’t think this changes anything. We have such belief in him. … For him, [the takeaway is] just that belief that we can count on him, which we totally can.”
Freeman ran with power, bulling through tacklers in goal-line and short-yardage situations. He showed quickness in bursting through holes for big gains. He had four runs of 10 or more yards, three of them for more than 15.
And he didn’t neglect his usual role as a pass-catcher, finishing with five receptions for 52 yards.
“I just believed,” Freeman said. “My offensive linemen, those guys blocked their butts off today. They created some huge holes for me and I just used my God-given ability and made it work.
“This makes me more hungry. I want more. The mindset of our team is to compete. We just want more and more and more. We know we’ve got to get better and ain’t nothing easy in the NFL. Every game is going to be a dogfight.”
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