FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – After a late-season surge to clinch a playoff berth for what could be another Super Bowl run, Atlanta’s defense – not its high-powered offense -- is garnering much of the attention. And following a closer look at the numbers, it appears that the praise is well deserved.
In short, the Falcons defense is playing better than perhaps anyone anticipated. After 16 regular-season games, the Falcons finished as a top-10 unit in both total and scoring defense, showing improvement against both the run and the pass.
In fact, it looks as though they’re one missing ingredient away from becoming one of the NFL’s elite units.