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Falcons was similar to what the team showed for 2 quarters of last year’s Super Bowl.Can they keep it up as they head on the road again Saturday to Philadelphia?The Falcons have that balanced offense — if Matt Ryan is efficient — to challenge any opponents. Where they made their mark against the Rams was on defense.“We don’t have a (complicated) defense Baby Takkarist McKinley Jersey , but we are very detailed,” says defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, a former NFL player who got the job last February. “And the detail of expectations of understanding that they have to make our defense come to life, and they’re doing an awesome job at it.”Philadelphia’s defense has been up and down recently, and it has dealt with a bunch of injuries. Depth has been a plus for Jim Schwartz’s unit.The edge here belongs to Atlanta at quarterback — if Ryan is efficient — with backup Nick Foles running the offense for the Eagles. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Foles fly. Or struggle.The Falcons are 2-point favorites over the top-seeded Eagles, a highly unusual occurrence. But one that, with Carson Wentz on the sideline, makes enough sense.FALCONS, 23-19Tennessee (plus 13) at New England, SaturdayThe Patriots are rested. They’re supposedly ticked off. They’re pretty healthy.And they are miles better than the Titans.Still, let’s give Tennessee tremendous credit for how it rallied in Kansas City. The Titans showed resolve and an ability to come up with big plays on offense that few expected.“You’ve got every team fighting to play for the next week,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty says. “Nobody’s going to go out there — and I don’t care if you’re down, if you’re up — like no one is going to quit. So Kendall Sheffield Atlanta Falcons Jersey , that’s something I think we always talk about, and obviously you could see it in that game against Kansas City.”But this one is in New England. Yes, it’s gotten tiresome to travel (and travel, and travel) to Foxborough for playoff games. There’ll be another one up there next weekend.BEST BET: PATRIOTS, 30-10Jacksonville (plus 7) at Pittsburgh, SundayOne thing about the Steelers: They tend to play much closer games than they should. Based on talent alone, they probably are the NFL’s most skilled squad.Here comes Jacksonville, following an offensive stinker in beating outmanned Buffalo. Logic says this should be a rout.Forget logic and remember that Ben Roethlisberger was so victimized in a 30-9 Week 5 loss to the Jaguars that he had one of the worst games of his career.There’s also the Antonio Brown factor: How healthy is the unanimous All-Pro receiver, who was injured in Week 15?Jacksonville has a staunch defense with a terrific pass rush, too. Its secondary is among the league’s best.OK, enough of that. We can’t make a case for Blake Bortles winning in Pittsburgh.STEELERS, 21-16New Orleans (plus 4) at Minnesota, SundayWhat figures to be the best game of the divisional round Kendall Sheffield Jersey 2019 , a redux of the Vikings’ 29-19 home victory in the season opener.Both sides are balanced and have enough experience to handle the pressure. While the Saints have the Hall of Fame-level skills of Drew Brees at quarterback, Minnesota’s Case Keenum has been among the most pleasant surprises in the league.Look for this one to come down to which defense asserts itself. Coach Mike Zimmer has built quite the unit in the Twin Cities.“Well, you want to have pass rushers, you want to have guys that can cover,” he says. “Without giving away all my secrets, I like a certain body type with guys. You can kind of look at most of them and tell what we’re trying to get. Athleticism, guys who can think quickly on their feet, safeties that have versatility, corners who can cover.”Sounds like a winner.VIKINGS, 20-17——2017 RECORD:Last week: Against spread (2-2). Straight up (1-3)Season Totals: Against spread (119-122-10). Straight up: (163-95)Best Bet: 9-9 against spread, 10-8 straight up.Upset special: 10-8 against spread, 9-9 straight up—— When this process began, I never would have suspected that the Falcons would hire 2012-2014 offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter as their replacement for Steve Sarkisian. Yet that’s exactly what they’ve done Kendall Sheffield Atlanta Falcons Jersey , as we learned today that Koetter is the newest Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator.The team confirmed the news on Tuesday. Dan Quinn’s response won’t surprise you. “We are fired up to have Dirk join our staff as our offensive coordinator,” Quinn said via the team’s media relations staff. “His experience and familiarity with our division will also pay dividends as we move forward.”Why Koetter? The Falcons will have plenty to say, I’m certain, but familiarity with Matt Ryan has to be a leading factor whether the team will admit it or not. Ryan likes, respects and had some genuine success with Koetter, albeit mostly only for a single season, and Koetter can slide right in with this quarterback and this personnel group without a major transition for anyone. That had to be attractive for Dan Quinn, who just cleaned out all his coordinators and is not looking for any sort of rebuild or teardown whatsoever. Koetter’s involvement, however faint, with a tremendously productive passing game in Tampa Bay also didn’t hurt his cause. He’s a solid hire with a long track record in the NFL. The case against Koetter is pretty straightforward, as well. He’s never been the play caller for an elite offense in his career, coming closest with a majestic rushing attack in 2007 in Jacksonville and in 2012 with a Falcons team that went all the way to the Conference Championship Game. Other than that, he’s mostly presided over solid-but-unspectacular units Womens Kendall Sheffield Jersey , many with severe personnel limitations. It was deeply concerning to see him take over play calling from Todd Monken this season, however briefly, and watch a productive Tampa Bay passing attack go into the toilet. Koetter’s track record simply has not been good enough to feel wonderful about this hire, with the acknowledgement that he’s never had such an elite personnel grouping before, not with Michael Turner declining so sharply back in 2012.We’ll have to hope this hire surprises us, then, and that Koetter will prove more a visionary than a steward after Steve Sarkisian milquetoastedly called this Falcons offense into a top 10 finish in 2018. If he can elevate this team’s offense even further as they look to rebound in 2019, Koetter will be a very popular man in Atlanta.