Falcons defense just accomplished something they haven’t done since 1991

The Falcons defense wasn’t spectacular against the Commanders. In fact, it was their worst outing of the season, surrendering a season-high 27 points and 294 yards of offense. Not exactly the ’85 Bears performance one might expect when facing a backup quarterback in Marcus Mariota, who was without his top receiving threat in Terry McLaurin.

Still, the fact that we’re talking about a game in which Atlanta allowed fewer than 300 yards as a letdown says everything about how far this unit has come in just one calendar year. Through four weeks, the Falcons rank:

• 2nd in opponent yards per game

• 14th in points per game allowed

• 11th in sacks

• 7th in takeaways

• 9th in sack percentage

By nearly every metric, this has been a top-10 defense, something Atlanta hasn’t been able to say in roughly two decades.

To put it in even further perspective, the Falcons have held opponents under 170 passing yards in four straight games. The last time that happened was 2004, and the last time it happened to open a season was 1991 — the same year the Falcons drafted Brett Favre.