Coming into this season there were a lot of talking heads and NFL analysts that thought the interior of the Atlanta Falcons defensive line would be too small to help the Falcons' get more sacks and be a top half unit in the league.
However, after having a 53.3% pressure rating that resulted in 16 quarterback pressures, six sacks, two interceptions, three fumbles, one fumble recovery, only 198 total yards of offense for the Minnesota Vikings, and Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy only having a 37.5 passer rating the Falcons defensive line proved that there’s no lack of size in their room, and The Morning Shift talked about that earlier today.
“For all the talk about there not being enough size in the interior of the line through two games I don’t care who you’re playing through two games that doesn’t seem to be an issue at the moment.” Beau Morgan said
According to Next Gen stats the Falcons defense pressured J.J. McCarthy 16 times, including 6 sacks. They generated pressure on 53.3% of dropbacks, the highest rate by Atlanta in a game since Week 15 of 2018, and six different pass rushers recorded at least 3 pressures.
Atlanta is currently fourth in the league in quarterback pressure rate at 46.3% and fourth in sack rate at 10.4%. Their seven sacks, six of which came against the Vikings on Sunday night, make for the third highest total in the league.
After one really good performance it's still too early to say the Falcons’ defense will be a top ten defense in the NFL this year, but Sunday night’s game against the Vikings proved that they have that potential, and proved they aren’t lacking any size on the interior of their defensive line.