Falcons’ defense is dominating the NFL in one major category, analyst praises ‘insane night’

The Atlanta Falcons played a near-complete game, and the defense put on a masterclass on Sunday Night Football

The Atlanta Falcons spent the majority of their draft capital on defensive players this offseason, with a particular focus on getting pressure.

In 2024, their 5.09% sack percentage was the second-worst rate in the NFL, behind only the New England Patriots. Atlanta’s desperate struggle to apply pressure up front led to the worst completion percentage allowed rate in the league last season, but it’s safe to say they’ve now turned that around.

In fact, through the first two games of the year, the Falcons are now leading that same category. In 2024, they allowed a 69.9% completion rate. So far in 2025, that number is now 52.8%, good for first in the NFL.

Their two first-round draft picks are key contributors to that success. The Falcons took a huge swing in the 2025 NFL draft , selecting Jalon Walker 15th overall and then sending the LA Rams a first-round pick in 2026 to trade back up into the 2025 first to select James Pearce Jr.

On Sunday Night against Minnesota, both rookie defenders claimed their first sack contributions against the Vikings’ offensive line and quarterback JJ McCarthy.

The Falcons had five first-half sacks against McCarthy and were consistently sending pressure from different looks to throw off the pass protection.

Rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker were both on the board with sacks, and according to NextGenStats, six pass rushers recorded at least three quarterback pressures in the game.

That relentless pressure up front led to throws under pressure, and the secondary picked McCarthy off twice. Those two picks went to the other two Falcons rookies, safeties Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman Jr.

Analyst Trevor Sikemma said:

“Just an insane night for the Falcons’ 2025 rookie class.”

Head coach Raheem Morris praised his rookies after the game, saying:

“I can’t say enough about those young guys. I can’t say enough about what they’ve done.”

The Falcons only made five draft picks this year, and one of those was a seventh-round offensive tackle selection. The other four were all priority picks that would help the defense turn its fate around, and all four made plays on Sunday night.

Xavier Watts was a ball-hawking safety at Notre Dame, claiming 13 interceptions in two seasons as a starter. He almost had two picks on the opening weekend of the season, and finally got his reward in the fourth quarter in Week 2.

Billy Bowman Jr. is also impressing in Atlanta and has shown that he can be a real problem for offenses when the Falcons deploy him in man coverage. The team has been stunned by how well he plays in man coverage, and that showed up on the field when he collected his first career interception this weekend.

Michael Penix Jr. wanted the Falcons offense to get the run game going after poor Week 1 display, and they answered

In a press conference this week, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. suggested Atlanta needed to do a better job of getting their run game going so they could be more efficient as an offense.

The Falcons had just 69 rushing yards as a team in Week 1, and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a closely contested 23-20 game.

This week, they had Bijan Robinson flying early in the game, resulting in 22 carries for 143 rushing yards, while averaging 6.5 yards per rush. Tyler Allgeier added another 76 yards rushing and the only touchdown of the game, which sealed the win in the fourth quarter.

The Falcons still have work to do, and fans are not thrilled with the playcalling on offense, but the win is a huge step in the right direction before their Week 3 matchup on the road against the Carolina Panthers.