Birds keeping eye on turnovers
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons know they need to start winning the turnover margin if they want to return to the playoffs.
Starting this Sunday at New Orleans would be a good time.
Falcons linebacker Deion Jones jumped to make a gameclinching interception in the end zone to help the Falcons hold off the Saints for a 2017 win on Dec. 7 in the first matchup.
Atlanta knows that committing three turnovers and getting one takeaway is unlikely to work again in a game where a win would clinch a playoff berth.
And the Falcons (9-5) have been dealing with this issue all season. Their minus-4 turnover margin is tied for eighth-worst in the NFL.
“For us to finish at minus-2, that’s hard to win,” Quinn said. “So, we know we lost possessions and we didn’t gain enough to give it back to the offense. The turnover margin, we’ve had a couple games where it was really out of whack where we had three.”
This is one of the biggest differences in Atlanta this season vs. 2016, when the Falcons went to the Super Bowl with a plus-11 margin (22 takeaways, 11 turnovers) that ranked No. 5.
In fact, when they won their final four regular-season games and in the playoffs against Seattle and Green Bay, the Falcons committed just one turnover and had 13 takeaways.
Atlanta is tied for the fourthfewest Atlanta’s Kemal Ishmael (right) breaks up a pass intended for Tampa Bay’s Cameron Brate.
takeaways this season with 12.
They have just four interceptions in 14 games, tied with the Raiders for fewest, after an interception by safety Ricardo Allen in Monday night’s 24-21 win at Tampa Bay was overturned because cornerback Robert Alford was called for holding Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans on the play.
Quinn said that was the sixth Atlanta takeaway of the season nullified by a defensive penalty, something he lamented this week and not for the first time.
Allen said Alford apologized to him Monday night, but that wasn’t necessary.
“Rocky said something to me when we got to the sideline ...
he said like, ‘That’s my bad, man. I should’ve done better.’ I said, ‘I appreciate that and all, but man, let’s move on. It ain’t that big of a deal.’”
The Falcons are tied for the fifth-fewest turnovers in the NFL with 16, although quarterback Matt Ryan’s 11 interceptions — he threw three against the Saints — are four more than he threw all of last season.
Atlanta’s bigger problem has been the shortage of takeaways, something Quinn preaches repeatedly in practice as the Falcons prepare for a game where a victory would keep alive the team’s chance to win the NFC South heading into a home game against the Panthers (10-4) on Dec. 31.
There was only one turnover File, Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP
in Monday’s game against the Bucs, and it was critical.
Atlanta safety Keanu Neal hit Tampa running back Peyton Barber after a 4-yard run that would’ve created a firstand-goal at the Falcons 5 in the first quarter, forcing and recovering a fumble to thwart a red zone drive.
With that in mind, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell said that there’s no need for apologies or pep talks, and the Falcons aren’t going to change anything.
“That’s football. We’re an aggressive team. Just keep going. You can’t worry about stuff like that,” he said. “Rock is aggressive, and we understand that . ... It’s obviously not hurting us right now. It’s not a big deal.”