There were two distinct parts to the 2015 season for the Atlanta Falcons.
The first seven games of the Dan Quinn era boasted great promise from the team. Atlanta began the year 6-1 thanks in large part to second-year running back Devonta Freeman. Freeman went from merely the first up in a two-back punch with rookie running back Tevin Coleman to the league’s leading rusher on one of the league’s hottest teams.
Then, Freeman’s impressive play tapered off, and so did the Falcons.
In the final nine games, Atlanta managed only two victories. Meanwhile, Freeman didn’t have a particularly terrible end to the season, but it was far from the production he had found when the Falcons were winning.
In these two sections of the season, Freeman’s yards per game dropped from 88.7 yards per contest to begin the season to just 54.4 yards to end. His yards per carry also saw a considerable drop, falling from 4.7 yards per carry to 3.2.