Before the Falcons began dismantling the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-14 at the Georgia Dome Thursday night, it would have been reasonable to figure that Atlanta’s linebacker corps would have to play well and contain the NFL’s leading rusher, Maurice Jones-Drew. As it turned out, the linebackers could have taken the night off, and the Falcons still might have won the game easily.
The best player in the Falcons secondary, cornerback Brent Grimes, didn’t suit up due to a knee injury, but he wasn’t needed, either.
Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and his favorite target, wide receiver Roddy White, had big games for the offense. For their part, they could have had simply “okay” games, and the Falcons (9-5) would have still won easily.
How could the Falcons have beaten another NFL team in a prime time match-up without stellar performances from such key parts of the machine? In two words: The Predator.
Twelve-year veteran defensive end John Abraham is still “The Predator,” and he’s doing quite well, thank you. On the Jaguars (4-10) first play from scrimmage, The Predator came off the edge and brought down Jacksonville’s rookie quarterback, Blaine Gabbert for a 10 yard loss. Jacksonville was forced to punt the ball back to the Falcons before converting a first down.
By the end of the Falcons’ next offensive drive, they would lead 10-0 with 3:22 reaming in the first quarter. In the locker room afterwards, Abraham said that he was confident and prepared, “I was telling myself, ‘I need to get one sack.’ Then, I said to myself, ‘I can get one more.’ I felt good and comfortable.”
The Predator did just that … and more.
In the second quarter, Abraham got to the first-year Jaguar quarterback again. Abraham came off the right side of Jacksonville’s offensive line, and in one motion, sacked and stripped Gabbert. When linebacker Curtis Lofton eventually dove and stopped the bouncing football, the Falcons took possession on the Jacksonville 19 yard line. Four plays later, the Falcons jogged into the locker room at the intermission with a 27-0 lead.
Atlanta head coach Mike Smith enjoyed watching his star defensive end from the first snap, “He had a monster game. He got started early and got into a real good rhythm.”
Abraham wasn’t done harassing Gabbert, though. On the third play from scrimmage in the third quarter, he came off the left side with a nifty swim move, then sacked and stripped again Gabbert near the Jaguars 16 yard line. Defensive tackle Corey Peters cleanly picked up the bouncing ball this time and carried into the end zone untouched. The extra point by Matt Bryant put Atlanta’s lead at 34-0 and put the game out the Jaguars’ reach.
Later in the same quarter, Abraham got another hand on Gabbert and guided him into the grasp of his charging counterpart, defensive end Ray Edwards. Smith rewarded Abraham by not sending him out on the field in the fourth quarter. Afterwards, Abraham had mixed emotions about morphing into a mere spectator from a quarterback sacking spectacle, “You want to stay in the game and get some big numbers, but you also have to smart and save yourself [for the rest of the season].”
Thursday night marked the former Pro Bowler’s first three sack game since 2003 when he was with the New York Jets. Abraham grabbed two sacks against the Chicago Bears in the opening game in September but has been battling leg injuries since Week 2. Abraham agreed that he wasn’t playing on two good legs again until he notched three tackles in Sunday’s win at Carolina. For the year, Abraham has 7.5 sacks.
Atlanta is in a favorable spot in the hunt for a wild card playoff spot, and to make a January run, they’ll need The Predator to keep playing at his best.
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