Falcons' low point this season? A loss to Eagles

HOUSTON - In Week 10, the Atlanta Falcons were held to a season-low 15 points. They converted just 2 of 11 third downs - a season-low. They ran just 48 plays and gained just 48 yards on the ground. Both of those numbers were, yes, also season lows.

And they lost, 24-15.

The opponent: the Eagles.

"We didn't play very well that day, and Philadelphia did a great job," Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said this week at the Super Bowl. "We didn't have many plays."

In retrospect, it was the Eagles' finest performance of the season, even better than their Week 3 victory over the Steelers. The Falcons entered the game 6-3 and with the highest-scoring offense in the NFL. They're now just a win over the Patriots away from claiming the franchise's first championship.

The Eagles, who had lost two in a row going in, almost flawlessly executed a game plan that kept the ball in their hands much longer than in the hands of Ryan and his explosive offense. With running back Ryan Mathews eclipsing 100 yards on the ground for the first time, Eagles coach Doug Pederson used ball-control play-calling to gobble up 38 minutes to the Falcons' 21 minutes in time of possession.

Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, meanwhile, utilized an umbrella zone that kept Ryan and receiver Julio Jones from going off on deep routes. But the Eagles defense also effectively slowed the run, pressured Ryan, and tackled even when passes were completed underneath.

"I've got a lot of respect for Jim Schwartz. I think he's as good as there is," Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. "They had a good game plan. They controlled the ball and we didn't go on long drives. It was kind of a perfect storm."

The Falcons had also played in 10 straight games and were eyeing a bye the following week.

"I felt we were pretty tired. We needed to lay it off for our players, get them away for a week," Shanahan said. "But since they came back from that week, I felt we got our juice back."

Atlanta won seven of its next eight, including two playoff victories, and in doing so averaged 37.5 points a game. Bill Belichick and the Patriots have been sure to analyze every frame from that eight-game run, but it is certain that the Hall of Fame coach has also paid special attention to the Eagles' success in November, and in particular Schwartz's scheme.

Few recall now, but one of the first interviews the Eagles conducted during their search for a new head coach in 2013 was with Falcons special-teams coordinator Keith Armstrong.

Owner Jeffrey Lurie and company had already met with then-Penn State coach Bill O'Brien, but when they flew down to Atlanta to meet with Armstrong, they still hadn't sat down with eventual hire Chip Kelly.

"It was a great visit with Mr. Lurie," Armstrong said Wednesday. "I thought I did a good job in the interview, but things happen."

Armstrong and Lovie Smith were the only minority candidate sthe Eagles interviewed then, thus fulfilling the NFL's Rooney Rule, which mandates that teams meet with at least one minority candidate. Armstrong has interviewed elsewhere for the top job, but he has been a constant in Atlanta as the Falcons' special-teams coordinator since 2008.

A native of Levittown, Armstrong attended Bishop Egan (now Conwell-Egan) High and then went to Temple on a football scholarship. He lettered four times as a running back and defensive back.

"I signed with Wayne Harden and played for Bruce Arians," Armstrong said. "I started off at running back and then somebody named Paul Palmer came along."

Arians hired Armstrong as a graduate assistant, setting off a coaching career that has taken the 48-year-old all across the country but never back to his hometown.

"I still go home every summer," Armstrong said, "and still play golf with all my high school buddies."

Reporters spent time poking Roger Goodell about the Raiders' now-threatened move to Las Vegas and other delicate topics at the commissioner's news conference.

Goodell said "there's a great deal more work to be done" before the Raiders can move to Las Vegas, a reality reinforced after both casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a backup financier, Goldman Sachs, pulled out of the stadium deal this week. The league is supposed to decide on the Las Vegas move in March.

Goodell said it was unlikely a casino owner could own a stake in a stadium, which would seem to disqualify Adelson anyway. (AP)