Three Takeaways From Falcons Win Over Saints

3. Falcons Defense Showing Glimpses

The Falcons defense had been getting torched weekly since the season started. Coming into the Saints game, the Falcons ranked in the bottom of the NFL in red-zone defense, sacks, and almost every major defensive category. Coming into the game with the Saints, the Falcons looked primed to get torched once again, this time by Drew Brees and the Saints.

Instead, the Falcons defense punched the Saints in the mouth and kept fighting the rest of the game. The 9 points the Saints scored matched their season-low when the Rams held the Saints to 9 points in Week 2. Conversely, the Falcons giving up 9 points was their best performance of the season, having given up 20 or more points in all of the games before the Saints game.

Pass rushing was an area the Falcons were struggling the most at. Going into Sunday, the Falcons had 7 sacks on the season. Against the Saints, the Falcons had 6 sacks on Drew Brees, almost matching their season total and pulling the Falcons out of the 32nd spot in the NFL when it came to sacks. The Falcons getting that much pressure on Brees allowed the back end of the defense to cover more, shutting the Saints down to no touchdowns in the game. It was a complete performance from the Falcons defense, something the Falcons achieved for the first time all season.