The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Russell pressured by defensive spies
The Falcons were concerned about Russell Wilson sneaking out of the pocket to make plays, so defenders took turns “spying” on the elusive quarterback Saturday at the Georgia Dome.
“He can get off the spot and run,” Falcons safety Keanu Neal said. “He’s dangerous. We had a few plays where we would spy on him a little bit.”
It was an effective strategy for the Falcons, especially in the second half of their 36-20 victory in the NFC divisional playoff game.
Several times Wilson escaped the initial surge of the Falcons’ pass rush only to be forced to throw the ball away when the “spy” chased him down outside the pocket. Wilson dropped back to pass 38 times, and the Falcons had three sacks, seven hits and (unofficially) 17 hurries.
Falcons players who spied Wilson included Neal, Jonathan Babineaux, De’Vondre Campbell, Brooks Reed and Vic Beasley.
“We tried to get him to beat us with his arm,” Beasley said. “He was able to make plays. You’ve got to give him credit. He’s a good quarterback. He’s going to make plays here and there. But I think we got him off the spot enough to frustrate him a little bit.”
Wilson was 17 of 30 passing for 225 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 49 yards on six carries, with a long of 14.
The Falcons had trouble getting a handle on Wilson early in the game. When they rushed him hard from the inside, he scooted to the outside. When the Falcons aggressively rushed Wilson on the outside, he found running lanes in the middle.
The Falcons did a better job corralling Wilson after halftime. He was 9 for 21 for 133 yards passing in the second half. Wilson had completions of 40 yards to Paul Richardson and a 31-yard TD pass to Doug Baldwin, but the Seahawks were in a big hole by then.
“I think we did a great job,” Neal said. “He got a few plays on us, but that’s part of the game. You get up and move on and focus on the next. He’s an awesome quarterback, and we held our own this game.”
Hester returns with big returns
The Falcons decided to release kick returner Devin Hester after he had a disappointing, injury-plagued season in 2015. Hester returned to the Georgia Dome on Saturday and did his best to haunt his former team.
Hester set up two Seattle scores with long kickoff returns. His 78-yard return to the Falcons’ 31 led to Doug Baldwin’s touchdown on the next play, and Hester’s 50-yard kickoff return set up a go-ahead field goal in the second quarter.
Those returns ended up not mattering much as the Falcons ran away to a victory.
Hester also had a long punt return called back in the second quarter because of a Seahawks penalty. Hester fielded Matt Bosher’s punt at the Seahawks’ 13-yard line, cut across the field to his left and ran down the left sideline until getting pushed out of bounds at the Falcons’ 8-yard line. But a holding penalty against Kevin Pierre-Louis brought the ball back to Seattle’s 7-yard line.
The Ravens released Hester on Dec. 13 and the Seahawks signed him three days before their wild-card game against the Lions last weekend. Against the Lions, Hester returned one kickoff for 20 yards and one punt for five yards.
Hester, the NFL’s all-time leader in return touchdowns, was effective for the Falcons during the 2014 season. But he played just five games in 2015 because of a toe injury, and the Falcons released him before 2016 training camp.
Line gets running game going
The Falcons’ offensive line stepped up to the challenge against Seattle.
After the Seahawks held the Falcons to 52 yards rushing on 18 carries in their regular-season meeting Oct. 16, the Falcons needed to run the ball to get their offense moving.
The line paved the way for running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, who combined for 102 yards rushing on 25 carries and one touchdown. Freeman rushed 14 times for 45 yards Saturday, and Coleman had 11 carries for 57 yards.
“In that first game we were still trying to figure out who we were and our identity as an offense,” right guard Chris Chester said. “Up until that point, we’d done some good things. I think over the past four weeks we’ve increased our efficiency.”
With the Falcons holding a 19-10 lead, the offensive line came out to start the third quarter and helped power a touchdown drive that broke open the game. On the 75-yard drive, the Falcons ran eight times for 44 yards, and Freeman capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
“We had close to 100 yards rushing,” quarterback Matt Ryan said. “In the second half our offensive line really got it going, and our running backs were able to get in there behind them and run effectively and physically. Our guys were physical the entire day.
“We have to give credit to our offensive line, they really got us going.”