DENVER — Instead of 300 yards receiving from Julio Jones, the Atlanta Falcons got 3 1/2 sacks from Vic Beasley Jr.
Maybe this defense really can play.
Already an offensive juggernaut, the Falcons turned up the defensive pressure and made life miserable for rookie Paxton Lynch in a 23-16 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
Beasley led the punishment of Lynch, who was making his first start as he filled in for a banged-up Trevor Siemian . Lynch was sacked six times and looked every bit like the rookie he is for the Broncos (4-1).
It may be the start of something good for a maligned Falcons defense.
“This is like a machine and you have to have all the parts of the engine working together,” defensive end Dwight Freeney said. “When you have that, you can have the success like we’re having.”
The road won’t get any easier for the Falcons (4-1) as they stay out west to go against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks next weekend.
For Denver, it’s quickly back to the drawing board in a short week. The team travels to San Diego on Thursday. Siemian and his sprained left shoulder could be back in time for that game.
“We didn’t want to expose (Siemian) today,” explained Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who was taken to the hospital following the game as a precaution with flu-like symptoms. “They came into our place, played with a lot of poise and made a lot of big plays.”
But none of them came from Jones. He had 300 yards receiving in a win over Carolina last weekend, but was held to two catches for 29 yards.
“They took me away and they were like, ‘All right, you’re not going to beat us today,”‘ Jones said. “Everybody else is going to step up. We’ve got a lot of weapons.”
Like tailback Tevin Coleman, who had four catches for 132 yards and a TD. Or Devonta Freeman, whose 1-yard TD on fourth down during the opening drive set the tone for the rest of the game. Matt Ryan later converted a fourth-and-1 with a QB sneak that set up a field goal before halftime.
“That’s our mindset, to attack offensively,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We just wanted to keep attacking.”
