Heading into this season, the Falcons were expected to win a lot of games, but they were expected to win in spite of their defense, not because of their defense.
Falcons fans pinned their hopes on Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, and a healthy and slimmed-down Michael Turner. The thought was that if Atlanta could put up a ton of points per game, perhaps the team could overcome any and all defensive woes.
Through five games, the 4-1 Falcons have been winning, but not in the way that people could have imagined. It’s the offense that has the defense to thank. Following Sunday’s 20-10 victory at Cleveland, Atlanta is a solid 12th in the NFL in total defense giving up 310.0 yards per game. More impressively, the Falcons are third in scoring defense (allowing 14.0 points per outing) and No. 1 in interceptions with 10.
Speaking of interceptions, Kroy Biermann came up with what will go down as one of the plays of the year for the Falcons during the fourth quarter against the Browns. With his team clinging to a 13-10 lead, Biermann swatted a Jake Delhomme pass, made a diving catch at Cleveland’s 31-yard line, got up and rumbled all the way to the endzone. Just like that Atlanta led by 10 with only 4:01 remaining in the game, all but clinching the win.
“I just happened to bat the ball and look up and it was there,” Biermann explained afterward in an interview with the team’s website. “Caught it, rolled up, and took off. I wanted to score. I was fortunate to do that.”
“I thought that Biermann had an unbelievable individual effort on his tipped ball interception and return for a touchdown,” head coach Mike Smith said in his postgame press conference. “I know that Kroy is from Montana and has probably rode a few wild broncos and bulls, and been thrown off and landed on his feet. I’m sure that had something to do with it. But it was just a super athletic play to roll in there and score the touchdown. That’s big.”
The defense has been big all season long. Even in the one loss at Pittsburgh, Atlanta held the Steelers to just nine points in regulation before surrendering a touchdown run in overtime. Defensive end John Abraham continued to be a force with two sacks against the Browns, giving him four for the year. He also forced Delhomme into another interception later in the fourth quarter.
“We’re meshing well,” Biermann said of the defense. “Guys are trusting each other. We’re happy with what we’re doin’, but there’s always room for improvement…. We’ve gotta start hitting on all cylinders.”
If this isn’t “hitting on all cylinders,” opposing offenses will not want to find out what exactly “hitting on all cylinders” means.
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