Eagles' defense dominates Falcons' league-leading offense in win

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The Atlanta Falcons entered the Linc on Sunday as the highest-scoring offense in the NFL. 

And the Eagles shut them down. 

“The gameplan was simple, really,” defensive end Vinny Curry said. “They have a high-scoring offense. We have a power defense. We had to be us, better than they could be them.”

Advantage, Eagles. 

Jim Schwartz’s unit certainly did its job on Sunday in a 24-15 win (see Instant Replay)

“That's the way guys were practicing,” Curry said. “Guys practiced their asses off this week. The focus was unbelievable. It just carried over.” 

The Falcons mustered just 15 points, 303 yards of offense, 11 first downs, 48 plays and 21:50 of possession. All were season lows for a team that entered the game averaging an NFL-best 33.9 points per game. 

The Eagles’ defense knew it had a challenge in front of it and accepted it during the week. 

“No doubt,” rookie cornerback Jalen Mills said. “What were they, the No. 1 offense in the NFL coming in?” 

Thirty-three points per game. 

“Exactly,” Mills said. “You got the guy, they call him Matty Ice (Matt Ryan). Ice in his veins. Julio Jones lighting people up here and there. For sure, it was a challenge. We took those and practiced on those little mental errors and we just sharpened those up.”

The Eagles held the Falcons to 2 for 11 on third downs and let them in the red zone just once. 

“We knew we were going to have to bring the intensity,” Brandon Graham said. “We knew we were going to have to put the offense in good situations. It's a field possession game in these tight games like this.”

The Eagles are now 4-0 at Lincoln Financial Field and have given up just 38 points in those three wins – 9.5 per game (see Roob's 10 observations). The Eagles have outscored opponents 108-38 at home this season and have given up just three total touchdowns at the Linc. 

Malcolm Jenkins credited fans with making a ton of noise. He said at times, the Eagles had trouble communicating on defense, so he knows the Falcons had trouble on offense. 

“Protect our home turf,” cornerback Leodis McKelvin said. “We got eight games at home. Line it up. That’s eight wins. That’s what you gotta do. You gotta take care of home. You gotta win on the road too. We got a road game next week. Gotta go out there and get a road win.” 

The NFL’s leading receiver still made some plays. Julio Jones caught 10 passes for 135 yards, but the Eagles kept him out of the end zone and minimized his damage. 

Because of McKelvin’s injured hamstring, once Nolan Carroll left with his concussion, the Eagles tried to get Mills lined up against Jones whenever they could (see story)

“You gotta know that he's one of the best receivers in the league,” Mills said. “You gotta know that he's going to make a play here or there, but that next play, it has to be the next play.”

The Eagles sacked Ryan just twice on Sunday but provided plenty of pressure. It clearly helped to have Bennie Logan back after he missed the last three games. 

The Falcons had just 13 rushing attempts for 48 yards. This was the second time this season the Eagles have given up fewer than 50 yards rushing in a game. Sunday marked the fewest rushing yards the Falcons have had in a game since 2014. 

And the Eagles’ offense helped its defense plenty too, holding the ball for over 38 minutes. It’s hard for the Falcons to score when they’re not on the field. 

But even when they were, the Eagles were ready for them. 

“We take pride in our defense and knowing that Atlanta is a great team, preparation was everything,” Rodney McLeod said. “Communication, effort, technique and fundamentals. All of that had to show up in order for us to win today. I think everybody played a part and did their role well.”

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