Since the Falcons returned from their Week 9 bye, they’ve defeated two division rivals by playing suffocating defense.
With seven sacks and just two interceptions over the team’s first eight games, opposing offenses had done pretty much whatever they wanted to Atlanta while the team sputtered to a 1-7 start.
That hasn’t been the case over the past two weeks, however, as the Falcons have racked up 11 sacks and four interceptions, more than doubling the team’s season totals in both categories in just two games.
Atlanta has held its previous two opponents to under 10 points, allowing 6.0 points per game since Week 10. The team’s defensive pressure rate has skyrocketed to a level we hadn’t previously seen this year, and it’s had an effect on the entire defense.
As Aaron Freeman highlights below, Atlanta’s third-down conversion percentage has been the lowest in the NFL, at 19.2 percent:
NFL’s best 3rd down defenses past 2 weeks:
1. Falcons – 19.2%
2. Chiefs – 22.2%
3. Patriots – 23.1%
4. Steelers – 23.3%
5. Raiders – 26.1%— Aaron Freeman (@falcfans) November 18, 2019
The Falcons made some defensive coaching changes over the bye week, bringing linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich and former wide receivers coach Raheem Morris over to share the team’s defensive coordinator duties.
Dan Quinn, who took over as the team’s defensive coordinator after Atlanta parted with Marquand Manuel in the offseason, was not getting the job done and made the right call in stepping back.
It’s not to say that Quinn doesn’t deserve credit for the team’s defensive turnaround, just sometimes head coaches are better suited to focus on the big picture.
The Falcons aren’t doing much differently, and while the return of Desmond Trufant definitely helped the secondary, as DE Vic Beasley said after Sunday’s game, the difference has been execution:
Vic Beasley, with one of his team’s five sacks vs. Carolina, talks about turning up the defensive pressure. Over last three games, Falcons have 13 sacks and 25 QB hits. pic.twitter.com/gJufAfToPW
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) November 17, 2019
Fans don’t care about who gets the credit, they just want to see the Falcons play up to their potential — the way they have over the past two weeks.
Something is definitely clicking for this defense. Atlanta likely won’t make the playoffs, but if the team keeps up this level of play, things will at least be interesting down the stretch.
That would have been hard to believe just a few weeks ago.
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