The Atlanta Falcons' pass-rushing woes have been well-documented this season, but it has yet to catch up to them. Despite its three sacks last week against the Dallas Cowboys, the Falcons still sit in last place in the NFL and remain the only team who hasn't reached double digits yet. Could it cost them a chance to compete for an NFC Championship or a Super Bowl down the road?
The Steakhouse discussed how their lack of sack production may not be the kiss of death we worried it could be.
"We said the ceiling on this team is going to be limited by the lack of pass rush," Doctor Arnold Mellits said on The Steakhouse. "But I went back and looked at [the historical figures] and it's actually not true."
Since the 2009 season, Mellits identified four different teams who won the Super Bowl while having a bottom-ten pass rush rating (according to PFF). He highlighted the 2009 New Orleans Saints, the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, the 2014 New England Patriots, and the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs.
"Those four teams had really poor pass rushes, but they won Super Bowls," he continued. "So it's not impossible, right?"
The key for those teams, and invariably the Falcons this season, will be whether the rest of the team is able to step up in key situations down the stretch.
The run defense, which currently sits in 23rd in yards allowed in the NFL, has to hold strong. The secondary, which sits in 19th in yards allowed in the NFL, has to do the same. Helping matters is the resurgent season that Kirk Cousins has enjoyed and the arsenal of skill-players to whom he has been able to distribute the ball.
To this point, the Falcons have been able to produce enough offense to offset their pedestrian numbers on defense. Will that continue? Their tight margins (+5 in point differential) indicate that there won't be much margin for error.
The Falcons sit atop the NFC South despite their continued woes in the sack department.
