The Atlanta Falcons enter the offseason forced to address this startling new reality: Defense is the team’s new strength.

That means there are new concerns on offense.

Only one year after Atlanta led the league in scoring in its 2016 Super Bowl season Authentic Alex McGough Jersey , the offense was no better than middling in the league.

It was appropriate that a season of regression on offense – and improvement on defense – ended with a scoreless second half in a 15-10 divisional round playoff loss at Philadelphia on Saturday.

First-year offensive coordinator Steve Sarkasian was the easy target to blame for Atlanta’s sharp decline in scoring , but there were other problems.

Running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman each missed time with concussions. Left guard Andy Levitre was placed on injured reserve before a wild-card win over the Rams with a triceps injury.

Quarterback Matt Ryan couldn’t repeat his 2016 MVP production. Julio Jones was held to only three touchdown catches – his low total since having two in 2013, when he played only five games. He couldn’t catch a last-chance, fourth down pass in the end zone from the Eagles 2.

The Falcons tumbled from first to 15th in scoring.

”I think that’s certainly something that we have to look at and evaluate this offseason,” Ryan said. ”There were too many times that we were a little bit inconsistent.”

While the core of the defense is young, the window is closing for the leaders of the offense. Ryan will be 33 next season – the last year on his six-year, $103.75 million contract. Jones will be 29.

Recent history provides a reason to give Sarkasian another season with the offense.

There was much talk that Ryan and Kyle Shanahan were not on the same page in Shanahan’s first year leading the offense in 2015, and Shanahan then won praise when the Falcons led the league with 33.8 points per game in 2016. The turnaround helped Shanahan land a job as San Francisco’s head coach.

Jones noted the Falcons had ”new pieces” this season, including Sarkasian.

”Everybody has to be on the same page and it takes time,” Jones said. ”It takes more than one year. … We are a much better offense than we showed for sure. That is just on us Kyle Freeland Colorado Rockies Jersey , on all of us.”

Here are some things to know about the Falcons following their 11-7 season:

FREE AGENCY: Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff are expected to talk on Wednesday about their offseason plans. Decisions must be made on attempts to re-sign such key free agents as defensive tackle Dontari Poe, defensive end Adrian Clayborn and kicker Matt Bryant. Ben Garland, who took over for Levitre at left guard, and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel also are set to enter free agency, as is return specialist Andre Roberts and defensive tackle Courtney Upshaw.

YOUNG D: Linebackers Deion Jones and DeVondre Campbell and safety Keanu Neal were the leaders of a defense which finished in the top 10 in scoring and total yards for the first time since Atlanta’s 1998 Super Bowl season. Those three players, as well as 2016 NFL sacks leader Vic Beasley Jr. and rookie Takkarist McKinley, who had sacks in both playoff games, were drafted following Quinn’s arrival in 2015.

WIN-WIN FOR QUINN: Sure, Atlanta again fell short of its first Super Bowl championship, but there was one postseason first for the franchise. Quinn is the first Atlanta coach to win at least one playoff game in back-to-back seasons. He is 32-21 in three seasons Authentic Breeland Speaks Jersey , including the playoffs.

FREEMAN MAY FACE SURGERY: Freeman told ESPN.com he finished the season with a sprained knee. He had 10 carries for only 7 yards against the Eagles despite sprained posterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee. He was on the injury report with a knee injury before each playoff game but the details of the injury were not known. He said he didn’t know if surgery would be needed.

STILL KICKING: The 42-year-old Bryant was good on each of his five field goals in the postseason after making 34 of 39 in the regular season. He is 12 for 12 in the postseason since joining the Falcons in 2009.

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Landry Jones, Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph can do the math.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have four quarterbacks in training camp. They'll carry three at most into the regular season.

Translation: one of them will be out of a job when rosters are trimmed to 53 on Sept 1. The goal over the next three weeks for all three of Ben Roethlisberger's backups is to make coach Mike Tomlin's decision on which one to let go as tough as possible.

So far, so good.

Jones and Dobbs each threw for touchdowns in Pittsburgh's preseason-opening victory over Philadelphia on Thursday night while Rudolph kept the offense moving throughout the second half.

Tomlin praised their respective play, noting they accounted for just one turnover 鈥?Dobbs' interception 鈥?and overall efficiency after combining to complete 20 of 29 passes for 252 yards and the two scores.

"Largely they did a good job of taking care of the ball, and that's important," Tomlin said.

"The communication, and getting people lined up 鈥?I think maybe we only burned one timeout during the course of the game. So those are some of the things that you look for, first time out particularly when you're talking about young quarterbacks in conjunction with other young people. And I thought they represented themselves well."

Rudolph, a third-round pick in April, played the entire second half and while he spent a portion of it scrambling for safety behind an offensive line littered with third-stringers.

He lost a fumble that was recovered by a teammate 鈥?ball security has been an issue during camp 鈥?but also showcased what he can do when he hit former Oklahoma State teammate James Washington for a 35-yard gain on a free play after one of the Eagles jumped offside.

Rudolph Scott Kingery Jersey , who finished 7 of 12 for 101 yards and led the offense to three Chris Boswell field goals, figures he should probably make looking for his longtime friend a priority going forward.

"I think throwing it to (James Washington) a little bit more could help," Rudolph said.

"I still had a lot of clean plays, checked it down when I needed to, push the ball down the field. I think our offensive line did a great job all night opening up lanes for our young backs. I believe I had a great experience."

Like Rudolph, Jones used a hard count to get a Philadelphia player to jump offside. While Rudolph turned it into a long gain, Jones turned his into a 72-yard touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

"That cadence is a weapon for us," Tomlin said. "We've done it for a number of years now. It's good to see the young guys do it."

Dobbs hadn't taken a snap in a game since the end of the 2017 preseason and likely needs to put together something special during camp to convince the Steelers to keep him. He rebounded from the interception by leading a near-perfect two-minute drill at the end of the first half. Dobbs completed 6 of 9 passes in taking the Steelers 75 yards, the last 29 coming when he stepped up in the pocket and threw a dart in the end zone to a leaping Damoun Patterson.

"Obviously, when you get to get more snaps with the football Richard Rodgers Jersey Eagles , the comfort level increases, so you're able to go out there and just play football rather than thinking so much," Dobbs said. "So it definitely felt good to get out there."

The Steelers also got out of the game relatively injury free. Offensive lineman B.J. Finney 鈥?filling in while veteran Ramon Foster recovers from a hyperextended right knee 鈥?is dealing with a quad contusion.

Other than that, the AFC North favorites head into their final full week at Saint Vincent College healthy and eager to take another step forward next Thursday in Green Bay and with no real clarity yet in the derby behind Roethlisberger.

Considering the way all three reserves did in Philadelphia, there are worse problems to have.

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