The Falcons are celebrating a dramatic 21-19 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. The game came down to the wire, as many Falcons games tend to do, and this time it was a game-winning field goal by Younghoe Koo that sent the Texans back home with the loss. The most dominant unit for the team, however, continues to be the defense led by new coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Sack numbers may not be high yet, but the entire unit has kept opponents in check through all five games. The team has yet to allow 30 points in a game so far.
New additions like defensive end Calais Campbell and linebacker Kaden Elliss are paying immediate dividends with their leadership and play on the field. Long-time Falcons Grady Jarrett and AJ Terrell are playing up to their Pro-Bowl standards as well. The team has also made up for the loss of linebacker Troy Andersen with Nate Landman, who is playing extremely well of late.
Dukes & Bell know just how pivotal this unit has been for the team thus far
“For us if Ridder can do what he did, our defense is doing its job on the other side of the ball,” Mike Bell declared.
“I don’t think you guys heard what Calais Campbell said when he came on with us a few weeks ago. He sat in the room with us, looked him in the face and asked him how good this defense was. He said ‘dude I don’t want to oversell this, but I think we’re going to be pretty good’”, Carl Dukes responded.
It remains to be seen how potent the Falcons’ offense can be. It is already clear how dominant the defense can be. The hope remains that a more balanced game like the one vs Houston will become the standard and not the outlier as the season continues to progress.
