Beasley, Falcons' defense pressure way to defeat of Broncos
Vic Beasley, Jr. of the Atlanta Falcons had seven tackles and one assist in a 23-16 win at the Denver Broncos Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons defense was superb while handing the defending Super Bowl champion Broncos their first defeat of the 2016 season.
Beasley, who played at Adairsville High School and was an All-American at Clemson, also finished with 3.5 sacks and forced two fumbles.
Atlanta (4-1) took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 13-3 advantage at halftime. After the Falcons pushed their lead to 23-6, Denver (4-1) added a touchdown and a field goal in the final three minutes of the game.
The Falcons’ defense, which has been criticized for its lack of pressure on quarterbacks, sacked Denver's rookie quarterback, Paxton Lynch, six times Sunday for a total of -40 yards and generated even more pocket pressure throughout the game.
Atlanta quarterback, Matt Ryan, was 15-of-28 for 267 yards and one touchdown. Running backs Devonta Freeman (23 att, 88 yds, 1 TD) and Tevin Coleman (6 att, 31 yds.) combined for 119 yards rushing. Coleman also caught four passes for 132 yards.
Beasley increased his season totals to 14 tackles and 4.5 sacks on the year.
The Falcons travel to Seattle next Sunday before hosting back-to-back home games against the Chargers and Packers October 23 and 30.
Links to follow Beasley and other professional and collegiate athletes from Cartersville and Bartow County are available on the 'Athletes Beyond Bartow' page of this web site.
