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ATLANTA – Falcons fans are used to seeing many fireworks inside the Mercedes-Benz stadium, but Atlanta's defense deserves the most credit for its 24-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night.
A week after allowing the Minnesota Vikings to win 172 yards on the ground, the Falcons (1-1) tightened the claws and held the Eagles (1-1) just 49 yards down and 2.3 yards down. race. Atlanta combined this stifling defense with a hasty pass that sent Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz three times and hit him 10 times in the night.
Although the Falcons allowed 13 games and 83 yards in the fourth quarter, allowing the Eagles to climb 20-17, the defense largely defeated the Philadelphia offense. More importantly, after giving a deep pass to what could have been a fourth decisive game, the Falcons' defense regrouped to win with a fourth save on the second occasion.
"Overall, I was proud of the tenacity of our team," said Falcons coach Dan Quinn Quinn at the end of the match. "I said last week we would find out a lot about who we are in the locker room. After such a difficult performance, we told the team that there was a big difference between playing hard and playing well. I told you that after the match we thought we played hard but we did not play well.
"So tonight, having an end and a finish like that, with the winning touchdown, then coming back and getting a fourth step for the win, I think it showed a lot of toughness, a lot of heart and what we defend. "
It is worth mentioning that the Eagles were without big receivers Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson during most of Sunday night, and that his teammate Nelson Agholor also left the game periodically. But the combination of pressure at the front of the Falcons and solid cover at the back did not leave much time for the Eagles to move the ball, regardless of who played.
Atlanta has limited Philadelphia to 286 yards, including 142 on the last two Eagles. Cornerback Desmond Trufant eliminated Wentz twice while Grady Jarrett, Adrian Clayborn and Vic Beasley each recorded a bag.
"We did not have a lot of chances in our first game to be in a hurry, but we had some pressure on the ones we did," Quinn said. "But it's a part of our game we worked hard on; the guys are getting the job done and hope we will continue to improve as we go. "
As often, the Falcons' defense was led by a trio of draft class 2016. Safety Keanu Neal led the team with nine tackles, while linebackers De'Vondre Campbell and Deion Jones finished with eight and seven, respectively.
The Eagles had their chances, offensively, though. After the Falcons took a late lead over a 54-yard touchdown by Julio Jones – which was ultimately the winning game – Agholor released the left touchline for what would have likely been an easy score, but the pass went straight to goal. fingers.
Despite everything, the Falcons' defense never gave way, even after some big Eagles games. The biggest of these was the first winning opportunity for Atlanta, a 43-yard pass from Wentz to Agholor on a fourth and 14th with only 1:29 left to play. But three games later, the Eagles faced another fourth goal, and this time, Neal and cornerback Isiah Oliver battled their opponent Zach Ertz close to first base.
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