WATCH: 10 Takeaways from Falcons sweep over Carolina Panthers
The Atlanta Falcons picked up their fourth win of the season and second against the Carolina Panthers with a 40-20 victory on Sunday. It was arguably the most complete game the Falcons played all season.
Let's take a look at our 10 takeaways from the contest:
1. The Panthers came into Week 14 with the No. 29 run defense in the league. The Falcons were unable to take advantage of Carolina's poor run defense in the first matchup, but Devonta Freeman didn't play in that game.
Freeman had his best performance of the season Sunday, rushing for 84 yards on 17 carries. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter rightfully featured him early and often, giving him 16 touches in the first half.
The Falcons rushed for a season-high 159 yards.
2. The return of Chris Lindstrom likely had a positive impact on the running game as well. He played 36 of Atlanta's 72 offensive snaps and helped the Falcons average 5.0 yards per carry. Atlanta also allowed only one sack, providing Matt Ryan some of his best protection in weeks.
3. With a heavy dose of Freeman in the first half, the Falcons didn't feature Julio Jones very often. That's been a theme in games lately, where Jones is an afterthought early on. He's only caught three passes in the first quarter during his last four games.
But after trying to establish the ground game in the first quarter during the last month, the Falcons then begin to target Jones on deep shots. The same happened Sunday, as Ryan and Jones connected on a 38-yard pass in the second quarter and nearly had a 56-yard touchdown if not for an overthrow from Ryan.
4. Ryan missed Jones on that deep pass, but he had a terrific day, going 20 of 34 for 313 yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers. Ryan became the 10th quarterback in NFL history with 50,000 passing yards.
5. 93 of Ryan's passing yards came on a touchdown toss to undrafted rookie Olamide Zaccheaus, who made a terrific play to haul in the long pass. It was the first catch of his career.
Zaccheaus should receive more playing time moving forward with Calvin Ridley out for the rest of the season because of an abdominal injury.
6. The Falcons forced four turnovers, picking off two passes and recovering two fumbles. For the first time all season, the Falcons took advantage of the extra possessions, scoring 13 points off of those takeaways.
The last time these two teams met, the Falcons scored only three points off four takeaways.
7. Damontae Kazee was terrific, intercepting two passes and forcing a fumble. He has three interceptions this season, all of which have come against the Panthers.
It would be great if Kazee picked off a pass against someone other than Carolina, but it's nice to see the 26-year-old trending in the right direction at the end of the season. He had seven interceptions last year.
8. The Falcons posted five sacks, which was their most since the last meeting with the Panthers. Vic Beasley had one of his best games with 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles, one of which Atlanta recovered.
Beasley has 4.5 sacks in the last five games since the bye week. In the first half of the year, he had 1.5 sacks in eight contests.
9. Dan Quinn poorly managed the last part of the two-minute drill in the first half, but I have to give him a lot of credit for how he's handled this team since the bye week. Despite coaching for his job, Quinn hasn't wavered in playing Atlanta's young players. Lindstrom returned when he was ready, and Kaleb McGary is still starting despite below average performances the last couple weeks.
When Desmond Trufant and Calvin Ridley went out Sunday, Quinn gave youngsters Jordan Miller and Olamide Zaccheaus opportunities, and they played well.
Continuing to provide young players valuable snaps during games down the stretch will be key to this team's growth. Quinn isn't letting his need to win for his job get in the way of that development.
10. Younghoe Koo had another terrific day as well. He went 4-for-4 on field goals, bouncing a 50-yard attempt off the upright and in. Koo also went 4-for-4 on extra-point tries.
Adding to his big day, Koo recovered a Panthers fumble on a kickoff return in the third quarter.
