New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons: 5 Matchups to Watch in Super Bowl 51
By Hal Bent
Malcolm Brown and Alan Branch vs Andy Levitre, Alex Mack and Chris Chester
Atlanta keys off their passing attack with a play-action passing concept similar to New England. Matt Ryan works best with his rushing attack creating space in the middle of the field and sucking down linebackers to free up lanes for his receivers.
Atlanta has lead back Devonta Freeman and his 1,079 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per rush average leading the way. Behind him, Tevin Coleman has 520 yards on the ground and a 4.4 average. Excellent receivers as well, this pair of running backs is hard to stop when they get going.
New England brings their excellent run defense to Super Bowl 51 and that unit is keyed by Alan Branch and Malcom Brown in the middle. Controlling the run game while in the nickel package (be it the three safety look or three cornerback look) is vital to slowing the Atlanta passing attack. That was a key part of the Philadelphia Eagles’ game plan on defense against Atlanta in Week 10 when the Falcons scored just 15 points.
New England has not faced an offense as strong as Atlanta’s all season. However, they have only allowed a 300-yard passer in just three regular season games (and a lot of garbage yards against Pittsburgh last week in the AFC Championship game). Yes, there has been a lack of elite passers going against them, but they have played good quarterbacks.
Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill, and Carson Palmer are hardly terrible quarterbacks but none is as good as Matt Ryan (2016 Matt Ryan, 2015 Matt Ryan not so much). Ryan has been excellent in 2016 (with a 29-point jump in quarterback rating) and will be the best quarterback New England’s secondary faces this season.
Mack and Levitre are among the best in the NFL at their position. Mack was arguably the most valuable free agent signing as he has stabilized the interior offensive line and protected Ryan while making space in the running game. Levitre is paired with a Pro Bowl player next to him and upped his game.
Chester is a liability in the passing game and may see a lot of defensive end Trey Flowers in passing situations as the Patriots will try and match him up against the weakest link on the offensive line. Brown and Branch need to hold their own against Mack and Levitre but need to dominate when they get lined up against Chester.
A couple of big plays by Brown and Branch early against the run could set the tone and force Atlanta off their balanced attack. Making the offense one-dimensional removes the play-action threat and limits the Atlanta passing attack better than any other strategy. Expect Belichick to plan on stopping the run first and foremost with Branch and Brown shouldering much of the burden.