Falcons’ experience key in postseason win
Lone returning team in NFC playoffs shows poise against Rams
LOS ANGELES — Experience could be the Atlanta Falcons’ big edge as the only team in the NFC playoffs for the second consecutive year.
Coach Dan Quinn said that advantage was a factor in Saturday night’s 26-13 wild-card victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
One year after advancing to the Super Bowl, the Falcons are “a battle-tested brotherhood,” according to Quinn, who added Sunday, “That kind of experience I thought certainly showed up last night.”
After showing impressive poise against Los Angeles, Atlanta (11-6) will play Saturday’s divisional-round game at Philadelphia.
“We’re not here just to get here,” quarterback Matt Ryan said after the game. “We want to make noise while we’re here, so this is what it’s all about. It’s about giving yourself the opportunity this time of the year to compete and play in games like this and win games like this.”
Surging at right time
The Falcons are only the No. 6 seed, making the playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season with a home win over Carolina. Even so, Quinn senses his team, boosted by last year’s long postseason run, is peaking at the right time.
“It helps because the guys who were in (last year’s playoffs) have this experience and know how to separate your preparation and make sure the only battle you’re in is this one,” he said, adding that one-game focus “doesn’t allow you to look too far back … and we’re certainly not thinking about anything past this week.”
Quinn said the victory over the Rams, who lacked the Falcons’ playoff experience, might have been Atlanta’s most complete game of the season.
The Falcons’ defense held the NFL’s highest-scoring offense to one touchdown. Matt Bryant kicked four field goals — giving him nine without a miss in his last two weeks.
Atlanta’s only touchdowns came on a 4-yard run by Devonta Freeman and a late 8-yard pass from Ryan to Julio Jones. But holding the ball for more than 37 minutes kept L.A.’s offense off the field, and that dominance made up for a lack of big plays.
“We’re equipped to play however we need to win that game, and I do love that about this group,” Quinn said. “For this game, what was required was to have more run attempts. I thought it would be a difference in the second half and certainly it was.”
Abrupt halt to L.A.’s run
For L.A., it was a tough end to a season in which the upstart team, lead by the NFL’s youngest coach, exceeded every expectation and stunned the league during its surge to an 11-win season and the NFC West title.
But that didn’t make the opening-round playoff loss any easier to bear.
“It’s a good start, a great start,” receiver Robert Woods said. “But we’ve got to keep building.”
Added guard Jamon Brown: “It’s hard, because we had a good thing going. For it to come to a halt and stop like it did, it’s tough. But we learned that we have the guys to do it. It was a matter of having the scheme, having the right coaches, having the right attitude. We’re going to get better.”
After 13 consecutive non-winning seasons and 12 straight nonplayoff seasons, Los Angeles (11-6) suddenly had it all under Sean McVay, 31, who became the youngest head coach in league history to reach the playoffs. L.A. improved by seven wins on last year’s performance while moving from 32nd in the NFL in scoring in 2016 to first this season, more than doubling last season’s point production.
Although McVay said he isn’t sure exactly what to do this week, he hopes his players will understand they are only as good as what happens next year. After outstanding seasons from Todd Gurley, Jared Goff and Aaron Donald, the Rams have pieces in place to do this again and again, McVay believes.
“I think this organization is going in the right direction,” McVay said. “I think we’ve got a good foundation in place that we can build on, but by no means does that mean that you win games automatically next year. While we did win some games this year, you still have to earn everything.”