The Falcoholic
Falcons fans are pretty confident in the team heading into Sunday Night Football in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers, and who can blame us? Let’s take a quick look at the Falcons’ defensive rankings through five games.
Jeff Ulbrich’s unit leads the league in total yards allowed per game (253.4), passing yards allowed total (697) and per game (139.4), and defensive DVOA. They’re top 10 in turnover differential (+3), interceptions (5), and total takeaways (8).
It’s not just the defense, and we’ll get to the offense in a moment. But I’ve covered this team for 14 years now, and I’ve been a fan for 20 years this season. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that this has the potential to be the best, most complete defense I’ve ever seen from the Atlanta Falcons.
Anyway, the offense is second in total yards per game (378.8), first in rushing yards per game (151.2), and top 10 in rushing touchdowns (6) and sacks allowed (7). I think the offensive line deserves a nod for that one — the success in the run game depends on all five guys, but this year it absolutely doesn’t happen without solid play from Elijah Wilkinson with Kaleb McGary on IR.
But we didn’t just ask you IF you’re confident in this team. We asked if you’re confident in the DIRECTION of this team. And again, I think it’s hard not to be.
Four of Atlanta’s five 2025 NFL Draft picks have contributed on the field this season, especially rookie DB Billy Bowman Jr. and S Xavier Watts. Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Michael Penix Jr. are all still on their rookie deals. They’ve got some big decisions to make in free agency, but there’s a good young core group of players at key positions who will make roster building a little easier over the next few seasons.
Because of all of that, I wasn’t surprised to see that 85% of Falcons fans who responded to our survey said that yes, they are confident in the direction this team is heading.
There are a lot of games to play yet this season, including both Saints matchups, rematches against the Panthers and Buccaneers, and four of their next five games are on the road, including the Week 10 trip to face the 5-1 Colts in Berlin, Germany. As Falcons fans, I feel like we all have a pretty good handle on all of the various things that could go wrong for this team between now and Week 18. I’m not saying I’ll be able to relax for one second while watching the Falcons this season.
But I do feel like the roster, as it’s currently built, Bijan Robinson somehow getting shiftier and more dominant with each week that passes, and the improved performance from the defense in particular gives us so much to be encouraged about. Michael Penix Jr. is not a perfect quarterback by any stretch of the imagination, but I think the flaws...
