3 Ways Atlanta Falcons can win Super Bowl 54
By Dan Parzych
3. Defense returns to playoff-caliber level
Normally, the Falcons have a reputation for having a high-powered offense since Matt Ryan is fortunate enough to work with one of the league’s most dangerous wide receivers in Julio Jones.
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Take this into consideration with the fact that Jones will be motivated more than ever heading into 2019 along with Calvin Ridley now having a year of experience under his belt, the expectations will be high once again for Atlanta’s offense next season.
However, if the Falcons are truly going to have any shot at returning to the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, the defense will need to figure out a way to return to their level from a few years ago when they were one of the most underrated units in the league.
Looking back at January 2018 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs when Atlanta held the Philadelphia Eagles, who would end up winning the Super Bowl, to just 15 points shows how good of a young defense the Falcons were putting together.
After two years of looking like a young unit on the rise, Atlanta’s defense was expected to take a major leap in 2018 to help the team live up to their high expectations of making a run at the Super Bowl, which was obviously far from the case.
Competing in the same division as other playoff-caliber teams such as the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers already gives the Falcons quite the challenge in regards to earning a playoff spot in the NFC.
So if Atlanta is going to have any shot at making a run at the Super Bowl, their defense is going to need to be on top of their game, or they will be watching from home again.