Falcons keeping eye on turnovers as season winds down

FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons know they need to start winning the turnover margin if they want to return to the playoffs.

Falcons l i nebacker Deion Jones jumped to make a game-clinching interception in the end zone to help the Falcons hold off the Saints for a 20-17 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 eighthworst 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 regularseason games and in the playoffs against Seattle and Green Bay, the Falcons committed just one turnover and had 13 take- aways. Atlanta is tied for the fourth- fewest 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 during last week’s 24-21 win at Tampa Bay was overturned because cornerback Robert Alford was called for holding Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans on the play.

FALCONS