For your drive home — relive yesterday's rivalry win with @tori_mcelhaney and me on the latest Falcons Final Whistle. We break down the recent defensive surge, led by the pass rush; Kirk Cousin's impact on the offense, and more! 🎧 https://t.co/lJJqOwO5wd https://t.co/s860tBp30e

Transaction: The Falcons signed wide receiver K.J. Osborn to the practice squad.

Raheem Morris praised the play of his defense yesterday and called out the two red-zone drives by the Saints where the Falcons were able to prevent touchdowns, saying those moments were "absolutely phenomenal."

Falcons' defense may have taken a bigger step today than I thought. They blitzed at a season-low rate (15.7%) against the Saints and generated 19 pressures and five sacks when sending four or fewer pass rushers. Jeff Ulbrich wanted to get to this point. They got there today.

Atlanta stopped the bleeding with a fairly clean road win against its biggest rival. The defense continues to be a revelation, and the offense still had its moments even without some key players. @TerrinWaack has the breakdown:

I think I'm more excited for this group of first- and second-year defensive linemen for the Falcons than I have been for a young core in a long time. Glad to see Ruke get involved. They've been stellar today.

The Falcons going from a team constantly at the bottom of the sack rankings to a unit that ranks among the very best — and deservedly so — should be one of the biggest stories of the 2025 season across the NFL. They have 22 sacks in their last four games!

That was Kirk Cousins' 290th career touchdown pass, which ties him with Johnny Unitas at 17th-most in NFL history. He's one shy of Warren Moon.

We saw a lot of those plays in the first half of the 2024 season, and it was nice to see Kirk Cousins connect with Darnell Mooney again today for the deep touchdown. Falcons have been lacking that downfield explosive element this year.

We've seen the Falcons' defense look sharp in the first half before faltering in the 4th quarter, and it's cost them wins. Time on field has played a big role in that and could again today. Falcons ran 3 plays in the 3rd quarter, tied for their fewest in a quarter since 1991.

Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. have been everything the Falcons could have hoped for this year. Walker already has 5 sacks and Pearce is at 3. They look really good coming off the edge for Atlanta. And we shouldn't lose sight of how important that will be moving forward.

The 95 yards by the Saints in the first half are the fewest Atlanta's defense has allowed to an opponent through the first two quarters this season.

Dylan Drummond was absolutely nails on that last play. His awareness to get up and get the ball back to the ref was excellent.

Who could have guessed we'd get a Kirk Cousins scramble/shoulder charge combo today!

James Pearce Jr. is the only rookie in the NFL this season to have a sack in three straight games.

AJ Terrell came out of the game with a stinger. He was evaluated for a concussion. He has been cleared to return.

On that last Falcons' series Tyler Allgeier moved to 10th on the team's all-time rushing list. He passed Haskel Stanback, who had 2,662 yards from 1974-1979.

Dee Alford is an excellent example of how players can thrive in one scheme and struggle in others. I'd argue he's played his best football this year, slightly ahead of his play in 2023.