Vic Beasley Enjoys Breakout Display Against Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers' perfect season is over.

Dan Quinn's Atlanta Falcons toppled the Panthers just two stops short of perfection in Week 16. Like any victory at this level, it was a team effort, but there's no doubting that two specific Falcons stood taller than most. Julio Jones was dominant on the offensive side, finishing the game with nine receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown.

Jones has been phenomenal all season. The Falcons expected him to be that good regardless of Josh Norman's presence on the other side of the field. What they didn't expect was Vic Beasley's impact.

Beasley finished the game with four tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. The sack and forced fumble happened on the same play, but the defensive end was able to create pressure and shed blockers throughout the whole game.

That hasn't been the case for the rookie so far this season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Beasley had 33 quarterback hurries entering Week 16, which was 21st in the league. He had just five quarterback hits, though, good enough for 44th in the league, and four sacks, which was 55th in the league.

It's not unusual for rookie pass-rushers to struggle, but Beasley's lack of strength at the point of contact with professional offensive linemen was proving to be a concern. One of the main criticisms of Beasley when he was at Clemson was that he was too small and not strong enough.

His performance and weigh-in at the combine eased that concern. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com revealed that "teams privately gushed about his ability to carry speed at the combine to go along with his additional weight."

Beasley's athleticism was what allowed him to go in the top 10 of the draft. Quinn drafted him to be an explosive edge-rusher who could become the focal point of his defense's pass rush.

Because Beasley struggled to consistently get offensive linemen off of his body for so long this year, it looked like he had simply bulked up for the combine and couldn't actually sustain that weight during the season.

It does appear that Beasley isn't playing close to his listed weight, but there may be a health reason for that.

Atlanta Falcons reporter Jay Adams reported on December 21 that Beasley has a torn labrum.

Obviously the labrum tear hasn't been so significant that Beasley has missed a game or practice, but that doesn't mean that it hasn't affected his work off the field. Any lost bulk could be attributed to issues with lifting during the season instead of Beasley simply using a strategy to peak at the combine.

Regardless of why Beasley has played softly so often this year, it's something that needs to be corrected moving forward.

Plenty of pass-rushers struggle for a variety of reasons during their first years in the NFL. What you really want from those pass-rushers is a glimpse of their potential or consistent improvement. Beasley hasn't consistently improved, but his individual plays of promise have been comforting for Falcons fans.

No play was more comforting than the fumble he forced against the Panthers this week.

Credit: NFL.com

The Panthers are a team that is built on great strengths masking great weaknesses. Their greatest weaknesses are their offensive tackles, but it's difficult to isolate them and be aggressive because of how the offense is constructed around Cam Newton.

Beasley regularly lined up against Mike Remmers, the Panthers' limited right tackle.

Credit: NFL.com

For his strip sack that sealed the victory over the Panthers, Beasley lined up just outside of Remmers and used his burst off the line of scrimmage to quickly get level with him. Remmers was shuffling uncomfortably to catch up to the edge-rusher.

Because Remmers was concentrating so much on moving his feet quickly, Beasley had an advantage with his hands.

Moving at such speed off the line of scrimmage gave Beasley options. He decided to use his hands to get control of Remmers' chest. He dipped his upper body slightly before punching Remmers' chest with his hands. From there, Beasley got his shoulder into Remmers' body and was able to lean on him as he turned the corner.

Credit: NFL.com

By getting his shoulder into Remmers' chest and using his lower center of gravity, Beasley was able to prevent the offensive tackle from pushing him past the quarterback. He held his ground and forced his way closer to Newton in the pocket.

He didn't completely overwhelm the right tackle, instead prying open just a small opportunity to knock the ball away from Newton.

Although he didn't completely destroy the tackle with a fancy move in space or run through him with his power, this was still an impressive play from Beasley. He showed off understanding of how to contort his body to maximize his power before showing off awareness and timing to knock the ball from Newton's grasp.

This is the kind of play that the Falcons will expect Beasley to make on a regular basis moving forward.

Once the strength matchups are equalized, his explosiveness should allow him to repeatedly exploit offensive tackles in space. In college, Beasley had 30 sacks over four seasons. Twenty-two of those came over 23 games in his final two seasons.

He isn't a raw athlete who is learning the whole position. He just needs to be refined and maintain his weight to become one of the better pass-rushers in the NFL.