Atlanta Falcons: Falcon’s Defense Ready for Playoff Run

The Atlanta Falcons have struggled on defense this season, headed into the playoffs could the Falcon’s defense help them go on a playoff run?

The Atlanta Falcon’s defense has struggled this season, especially early in the year allowing a lot of points and letting the opposition pile up yardage. As the year has worn on the Falcon’s defense has gotten faster and is an under rated part of this Falcon’s team.

While it is understandable why they have been as maligned as they have been the Falcons have improved on defense a lot more than most people think. While the thirty-two points given up in the final game of the year might be pointed to as evidence of how bad the defense is it isn’t a fair judgement until you put it in context.

Before the final game of the season the Falcon’s defense has been on a roll allowing sixteen points or less in three of their four final games allowing most of those points to be scored in garbage time. Which is exactly why Drew Brees and the Saint’s offense piled up thirty-plus points on this defense.

The game against the Saints was decided early on and the Falcon’s defense and offense begin to play soft taking their foot off of the gas and playing on offense to run the clock and on defense to avoid the big plays. With that in mind the points allowed by the Falcons in the final game of the year were in garbage time when the game was already decided. That will not be the case headed into the playoffs.

The Falcons defense is a young talented until that has been maligned all season long as the Falcon’s weakness and the reason they could not make it all the way to Houston. What the Falcon’s critics are missing is the Falcon’s speed on defense and just how well they have learned to use it throughout the season.

While they could still prove to a be weakness for the Falcons in the playoffs they could just as easily prove to be a strong point and surprise the NFL by helping carry the Falcon’s vaulted offense to the next level and ultimately to Houston.

If that is going to happen Vic Beasley and an overachieving secondary are going to have to continue to play the way they did through the final four games of the year. Aside from Jalen Collin’s struggles against the Saints the secondary has been impressive without their best corner-back shutting down opposing receivers and allowing the offense to jump out to huge leads early in games.

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If they can continue to overachieve and Vic Beasley can continue to cause issues for the opposing quarterback this defense could surprise a lot of people and take steps forward as a unit.