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The Atlanta Falcons narrowly avoided their second loss on Sunday. They weren't facing a particularly formidable opponent. For the entire first half, their passing game was non-existent. Dan Quinn yelled a lot. These are the days of our lives.
But it's a new week. And it's Tuesday, which means one thing: power rankings!
Meanwhile, the Falcons got a road victory in Tennessee despite what looked to be a botched review of a Julio Jones touchdown (which was followed up by a Matt Ryan interception) to improve to 6-1. Things haven't necessarily been pretty for Atlanta the last few weeks, but the team is finding ways to win -- a huge improvement over last season.
Turnovers are becoming a problem as the Falcons have committed eight the past three games. They had two turnovers in their first four games.
There's no way they deserved to win that game on Sunday. Even a D-plus quarterbacking effort from the Titans would have done the job. Chalk it up as a difficult game to get up for, because it's hard to imagine the Falcons have just lost it after an impressive 5-0 start.
The offense suddenly isn't scoring points. That has to be fixed. The schedule gives them time, starting this week with Tampa Bay.
The Falcons survived a scare in Nashville despite Matt Ryan being off for the better part of the day. The franchise quarterback missed Julio Jones twice in the end zone, ultimately finishing 22 of 38 for 251 yards with a touchdown to Jones and two picks. The defense did its job, however, repeatedly halting Titans progress on drives, forcing the Mettenbergers to go 1 for 9 on third down and picking off the young passer late to seal the deal.
Are defenses starting to solve them? Atlanta's scoring output has steadily declined over the past three weeks.
Atlanta's passing game hasn't been quite as explosive since since their hot start, but Dan Quinn's defense is still playing at a high level thanks in part to surprising contributions along the defensive line and cornerback Desmond Trufant.
Honesty about the state of the franchise is the name of the game this week. The offense has serious deficiencies, notwithstanding the new and improved rushing attack. Fix those and the winning ways will continue. Don't and the team will continue its regression. Discuss.