In 2016, the Falcons were first in points and second in yards on offense, and 27th and 25th in those two rankings on defense. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to top their 2016 offensive performance, given the very real difficulty of repeating that performance in subsequent years.
They can, however, improve on defense. I also fully expect that they will do so, given their improving talent base and strides forward last year. This is probably the most talented defense we’ve seen in Atlanta in years, and really it’s just a matter of time before they get to be in the top half of the league on that side of the ball.