The Atlanta Falcons avoided a complete Super Bowl hangover by finishing 10-6 and earning the NFC's final wild-card berth. Heading into Saturday's road matchup with the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Rams (11-5), the No. 6 seed Falcons hope to rebound from last year's Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots and make another title run.
Reasons to be excited: The defense, under first-year coordinator Marquand Manuel, made an incredible leap in one season, finishing in the top 10 in scoring defense and total defense for the first time since 1998.