When top units collide, history favors defense

Devonta Freeman has heard about the history.

In the six Super Bowls featuring the NFL’s highest- scoring offense against the defense that allowed the fewest points in the league ... the defense won five times.

What does that tell the running back about the challenge looming in Super Bowl LI for his Atlanta Falcons?

“Nothing,” Freeman told USA TODAY Sports this week. “It don’t tell me nothing about this challenge, because it’s all about us, about what we do. I feel that the only team that can beat us is us.”

In other words, take your history and stuff it.

Yet there’s no avoiding the alluring subplot created when an explosive offense such as Atlanta’s — its 540 points during the regular season tied for eighth most in NFL history — must get through the stingiest defense in the league in order to taste Super Bowl glory for the first time in franchise history.

Here we go again: Irresistible force, meet immovable object. Something must give. “They do a great job of limiting explosive plays,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said of the New England Patriots, who allowed 15.6 points per game. “They don’t make mistakes, they don’t get out of position very often and they tackle extremely well. They kind of keep things in front, like they’re supposed to. To me, it looks like a defense that’s on top of the details.”

A typical Bill Belichick defense, long on discipline.

Of course, this goes both ways. Although the Patriots haven’t played nearly such a prolific offense all season, linebacker Dont’a Hightower swears they have matched up against something similar.

“Honestly, they resemble our offense,” Hightower said, referring to the Tom Brady- armed unit that he faces in practice. “So we see a great offense every day. We feel like we get a preview look at that.”

The Falcons, who averaged 33.8 points per game in the regu- lar season and scored 80 more in two playoffs wins, serve up the hottest quarterback in the league in Ryan. The presumptive MVP scans defenses with the best of them to make quick decisions and hasn’t been intercepted since Dec. 4. Major headache.

Then there’s Julio Jones. When it comes to taking a short pass and going the distance, there’s no better threat than Jones, who demonstrated that with a 73- yard scoring jaunt in the NFC title game. On top of that, Atlanta’s backs ( Freeman and Tevin Coleman) embody the potential of a tremendous strain on a defense with their ability to stretch the field in the passing game.

This is a long checklist, particularly for a group with a leaguelow 11 turnovers in the second season under creative coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Ryan has picked apart one defense after another by distributing effectively to his array of weapons. Taking away Jones ( easier said than done) does not stop the Falcons. It seems to merely invite Ryan to find another place to find an open man, maybe Mohamed Sanu or Taylor Gabriel.

Despite all that, we’re talking about Belichick and his sharp defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, devising a plan. Over many years, no team has been consistently better at squashing a hot offense than the Patriots.

Much buzz this week has focused on what the Patriots might do against Jones, the type of big receiver who has stung the Patriots in Super Bowls. Perhaps they will assign lockdown cornerback Malcolm Butler to Jones. It was Butler who saved the Super Bowl two years ago with his goal- line interception of Russell Wilson in the closing seconds. Yet there’s also a possibility he will match up against another receiver while a combination of defensive backs double- cover Jones.

“I’m not concerned at all,” Jones said. “They’ve been trying it the whole year, trying to take me away, and Matt’s done a great job of distributing.”

One of the keys with Jones — and others — will be to limit yards after the catch. The Falcons produce so many big plays that begin with short passes. Incidentally, the Patriots are the best in the NFL at limiting such yards, with an average of slightly more than 4 yards after the catch. That’s the sign of a suretackling team.

But if there’s a pattern the Patriots really need to change, it involves knocking the Falcons off course as early as possible. As the Green Bay Packers, who lost the NFC Championship Game, can attest, part of the beauty of Atlanta’s offense is its ability to strike fast and set the tone of the game by quickly forcing teams to play catch- up.

That’s the recent history New England surely wants to avoid in its bid to contain another hot offense on the big stage.

BRETT DAVIS, USA TODAY SPORTS The Falcons have the NFL’s top- scoring offense. “I feel that the only team that can beat us is us,” Devonta Freeman says.