Falcons fans don’t need any reminder on how the difference between winning and losing a football game often comes down to how a team performs over the final minutes.
It’s the reason we obsess over game-winning drives and fourth-quarter comebacks. Playing well in clutch time is what separates the good and great players in the NFL.
Pro Football Focus came out with an all-clutch team from the 2019 season in which Ben Linsey picks a roster based on those players “who graded the best in the fourth quarter and overtime of one-score games (within eight points).”
Despite an underwhelming overall performance and 7-9 finish, Atlanta’s Deion Jones and Alex Mack made the starting lineup of PFF’s team of clutch performers. Jones was praised for his coverage ability:
If you look at the linebackers listed here, there is a pretty clear theme — these are players who make their name in coverage. Both first-team selections (Jones and Schobert) earned 90.0-plus coverage grades in the fourth quarter and overtime of one-score games, and they combined to allow one first down/touchdown on 10 targets with Jones intercepting a pass and Schobert forcing an incompletion. When the game is on the line and opposing offenses are marching, you want linebackers who can limit after-the-catch opportunities and make plays on the ball in coverage. That’s something all four of these linebackers can do.
For Mack, it’s more recognition as he’s been one of the league’s elite offensive linemen for the past decade. Here’s what PFF wrote about the All-Pro Falcons center:
Mack has been one of the best centers in the NFL for over a decade. Even on an Atlanta offensive line that was in disarray last season, he remained a constant for Matt Ryan and company. In this subset of plays, specifically, Mack allowed just one pressure on 59 pass-blocking snaps, good for a pass-blocking grade north of 80.0. Questions remain about how the young pieces like Kaleb McGary and Chris Lindstrom will progress, but Mack remains in Atlanta as an anchor that can be relied upon up front.
One of the reasons analysts have been high on Atlanta entering the previous few seasons is because the team has elite players at several key positions, including quarterback, defensive tackle and middle linebacker.
The Falcons purged their roster in an effort to free up cap space and get younger. Without a doubt, the pressure will be on in 2020 since the entire front office is potentially on the hot seat.
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