One bright spot in Falcons loss to the Panthers

Offensively, there were no positives to take away from the Falcons’ 30-0 loss to the previously winless Carolina Panthers. Defensively, however, Atlanta’s unit continues to look like one that has completely flipped the script from recent seasons.

Despite the offense constantly stalling and special teams giving the Panthers short fields, the Falcons defense held Carolina to just 23 points and 224 total yards. The Panthers managed to crack 100 yards rushing but needed 30 carries to get there (3.7 yards per attempt), and Bryce Young completed only 16 passes for 121 yards through the air. Time and again, the defense gave Michael Penix Jr. opportunities to get back in the game, only for the offense to make the hole to climb out of even deeper.

Following Monday night’s game between the Lions and Ravens, the Falcons now rank second in total defense, giving up just 227.3 yards per game. They lead the league in passing yards allowed per game (131.0) and rank second in opponent completion percentage (57.1%). Atlanta’s pass rush is also vastly improved, already notching eight sacks, well ahead of last season’s pace when they finished 31st in the league with just 31 total.

It’s admittedly tough to focus on positives after a 30-0 loss, and these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. The sample size remains small, and Atlanta’s defense hasn’t exactly faced a gauntlet of elite offenses over the past two weeks. Bryce Young is fighting to keep his job as Carolina’s starter, and J.J. McCarthy was making just his second NFL start.

Over the next month, with the Commanders, Bills, and 49ers on the schedule, we’ll get a much clearer picture of just how far this Falcons defense has come.

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