We're just two games into the NFL season, but it seems like the Atlanta Falcons have found the remedy for the Super Bowl hangover.
It's called having a damn good team.
Since they blew the 25-point lead to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl last February, all we've heard about was how they would have problems responding to that loss.
As a team, they did a lot of things to overcome it, including training with Navy Seals, having head coach Dan Quinn reach out to a lot of coaches in other sports who had those types of losses, and having their MVP quarterback go into a funk for two weeks before snapping out of it.
It all seems to have worked.
The Falcons blew out the injury-plagued Green Bay Packers Sunday night to stake a claim as the best team in the NFC, and right now the top team in my Power Rankings.
I thought all summer that the Falcons would have no issues bouncing back from the loss in large part because I thought their team would be much improved on defense. The offense can still be a points machine, which we saw glimpses of Sunday night, but it's that defense that will make this team better -- and a real threat to get back to the Super Bowl.
Against the Packers, the Falcons had three sacks and two takeaways, returning one for a touchdown, while showing off their defensive strength. Corner Desmond Trufant, who didn't play in the playoffs last season after being lost with a shoulder injury, got the touchdown on a fumble recovery and also had an interception of Aaron Rodgers.
The rest of the defense is playing much faster, mainly because they are a year older. This was a defense that started four rookies in the Super Bowl.
So about that Super Bowl hangover, you can forget about it. Being good, which the Falcons are again, is a cure for it.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | They still haven't quite clicked on offense yet, but it's coming. When it does, watch out. | 1 | 8-9-0 | |
2 | Here's another team that hasn't been as good as expected on offense. Maybe Le'Veon Bell missing the preseason matters now. | 1 | 10-7-0 | |
3 | This team is for real, which I didn't expect. They have two victories over two good teams. Watch out in Los Angeles this week. | 1 | 15-2-0 | |
4 | That team we saw in New Orleans is the one we expected to see all season. The defense made big strides. | 1 | 4-13-0 | |
5 | The injuries are really starting to pile up. It would be nice to see this team at full strength. | 4 | 11-6-0 | |
6 | That offense is going to put up a ton of points. It must be nice to have one of the league's best offensive lines. | 1 | 4-13-0 | |
7 | If Trevor Siemian keeps it going, they will be a deep playoff team. But now they have to play their first road game at Buffalo. | 5 | 10-7-0 | |
8 | The defense was impressive against the Bears, which could make this team even better than expected. | 2 | 10-7-0 | |
9 | Where is the offense? It can't do much without an offensive line. Chris Carson did give them some hope in the fourth quarter running the football. | 1 | 10-7-0 | |
10 | Winning on the road against the Giants Monday night is a good sign. That defense is much improved over a year ago. | 1 | 15-2-0 | |
11 | That was a big-time win on the road after dealing with a lot of issues the past few weeks. Jay Cutler did some good things in that victory. | -- | 8-9-0 | |
12 | The loafing in the blowout loss to the Broncos was not a good look. Neither was Jason Garrett putting the offensive issues on Dak Prescott. | 6 | 7-10-0 | |
13 | The defense is off to a fast start, but Cam Newton hasn't looked himself throwing it. Maybe that shoulder is still an issue. | 2 | 5-12-0 | |
14 | The defense is playing great football, and taking it away. They haven't played good offenses yet, and won't this week against Jacksonville. | 2 | 12-5-0 | |
15 | The defense has impressed in the first two weeks. The front four is nasty. | 2 | 14-3-0 | |
16 | I didn't think they would win at Pittsburgh with a healthy Sam Bradford, but now his knee might be an issue going forward. That's not good. | 2 | 14-3-0 | |
17 | They haven't looked good the first two weeks, but now come home for a big one against Dallas. They had five offensive starters out last week against the Colts. | 2 | 8-9-0 | |
18 | The Titans were staring 0-2 in the face, but had a big second half against the Jaguars to get back on track. They looked like the team we expected to see before the season. | 3 | 3-14-0 | |
19 | They ran all over the Rams, which is a good sign for the offense. Now they have to amp up the passing game. | 6 | 12-5-0 | |
20 | What happened to the defense? Wasn't Aaron Donald back for this one? It wasn't good. | 2 | 10-7-0 | |
21 | The same old song: Losing close games. When does it end? | 1 | 11-6-0 | |
22 | The offensive line is killing this team. They have a survival game this week at Philadelphia. | 5 | 3-14-0 | |
23 | The offense is pedestrian, which is why the defense will be stressed all season long. They have to be able to throw it better. | 1 | 4-13-0 | |
24 | Deshaun Watson did some good things with his legs against the Bengals, but he has to be better throwing it. | 1 | 10-7-0 | |
25 | Their offense has to improve. They didn't do anything against the Panthers. LeSean McCoy needs more touches than what he got against Carolina. | 2 | 13-4-0 | |
26 | The defense is the same as always: Horrible. Do they cover anybody? | -- | 5-12-0 | |
27 | It's now eight quarters being shutout. Do they really think a change in coordinators will matter? The line stinks. | 3 | 9-8-0 | |
28 | DeShone Kizer will have growing pains like he did against the Ravens. It happens to rookie passers. This is a learning year. | -- | 3-14-0 | |
29 | Why don't they just play Mitchell Trubisky? It's clear they aren't going anywhere. | -- | 5-12-0 | |
30 | They competed against the Cardinals, which is an improvement. Andrew Luck is sorely missed. | -- | 8-9-0 | |
31 | They ran the ball well against Seattle, so they have that to build on. The passing game has to be better. | -- | 6-11-0 | |
32 | They make so many mistakes. It's going to be a long, long season. | -- | 5-12-0 |