Dan Quinn's Atlanta Falcons Have All the Qualities of a Legitimate Contender

The Atlanta Falcons have played five games, and won five games. That comes after the No. 5 meant something entirely different in 2014. At one point the Falcons lost five straight games and won only six total.

The difference now isn’t just wide receiver Julio Jones elevating himself to uncoverable status while averaging 109 yards through the air per game. It’s not just running back Devonta Freeman, whose pinballing style has remarkably led to 645 yards from scrimmage already. And it’s not just a defense that entered Week 5 tied for second in the NFC with eight takeaways.

The Falcons’ success is rooted in all of the above. The entire package under new head coach Dan Quinn has the early look of more than a conference and division leader, though the Falcons have claims on both of those titles right now, too. After a season of bumbling disappointment, Atlanta is showing it has all the necessary tools for a deep run into January and maybe February. 

Boxes have consistently been checked by a team that’s won in different ways. You want clutch, game-winning drives in tight contests? The Falcons started their season with two of those, beating the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants by a combined six points. Then in Week 4 a growing juggernaut team responded with the expected mighty fist against the Houston Texans, beating up on a much-weaker opponent and winning easily 48-21.

Now in Week 5 the Falcons had mistakes to overcome, with quarterback Matt Ryan throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble against the Washington Redskins. His turnover generosity stifled Atlanta’s offense, resulting in only six points after three quarters.

Quickly none of that mattered, as the Falcons stormed back with 13 fourth-quarter points. During the final quarter of regulation time, Freeman logged 60 of his simply unfair 197 yards from scrimmage. His six-yard touchdown run briefly helped give Atlanta the lead before a Redskins field goal forced overtime.

Then because this is a Dan Quinn team, a defensive play and another takeaway maintained the Falcons' pristine unbeaten record. The NFL provided highlights of the pick-six:

That’s cornerback Robert Alford with a game-winning 59-yard pick-six. Alford’s second interception of the game—only one behind his 2014 total—sealed the Falcons’ first 5-0 start since 2012.

He’s part of a defense that didn’t necessarily need to suddenly morph into a group of thumping, swarming and ball-hawking menaces, though that process is underway regardless. Under Quinn the Falcons only needed to inch toward being average defensively, because anything above putrid would have been a bounding leap.

So far Quinn’s new team hasn’t been a pushover; instead, Atlanta has been doing the pushing.

Year	Rushing Yds allowed/game	Points allowed/game	Total Yds/game
2014	118.4	26.1	398.2
2015	78.4	22.4	366.4

There’s still room for improvement, especially with a 30th-ranked secondary allowing 288.0 passing yards per game, in part because that unit is getting little support from a pass rush with only six sacks.

But the Falcons defense has been far better than expected, particularly when asked to pummel opposing running backs. Sunday Redskins backs Matt Jones, Alfred Morris and Chris Thompson combined for just 50 yards on 23 carries.

That’s a lowly, minuscule average of 2.2 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, the Falcons’ own backfield kept steamrolling ahead while a surging NFL sophomore powered it.

Take your pick for the most unfathomable Freeman accomplishment over his first three starts. Behind the first door is his regularly ballooning yards from scrimmage, as noted by Football Perspective’s Chase Stuart:

Freeman has averaged 129 yards from scrimmage per game overall this season. His per-game production spiked when backfield teammate Tevin Coleman went down with a rib injury in Week 2.

Brace yourself for Freeman’s average weekly output over his three starts as the lead runner in Kyle Shanahan’s offense: 179.7 total yards.

Maybe instead you like scoring, though, because that’s pretty important in the business of winning football games. So you’ll go with door No. 2 and pick Freeman’s historically significant touchdown-bulldozing as his most impressive feat of strength. Speaking of impressive, Freeman's seven rushing touchdowns in his first three starts sets a Super Bowl era record, according to Director of NFC Football Communications Randall Liu:

There’s no wrong answer, as Freeman is igniting some serious fireworks.

Beyond Freeman, Jones has set a comical receiving pace for 1,744 yards this season, and fellow wideout Leonard Hankerson is capitalizing on an opportunity with 254 receiving yards of his own. He’s already nearly halfway to his previous career single-season high of 543 yards.

For several years the Falcons' offensive pieces have been in place, and yet underwhelming results still followed. Now even more has been added to that offensive foundation, and a defense that’s gone from incompetent to average—or far above it, in some areas—has the Falcons looking like very legitimate NFC contenders.