Atlanta Falcons are playing elite football at the wrong time

After the first half of the season, no one expected the Atlanta Falcons to come out the way they did after the bye week.

Many were hoping the Atlanta Falcons would start tanking after their horrific first half so they could be in a position to draft Chase Young to help their pass rush since it seemed like Takk McKinley and Vic Beasley couldn’t get the job done.

Fans were calling for the head of Dan Quinn, wanted Devonta Freeman, Vic Beasley, and Desmond Trufant gone. What a difference a week makes.

The Atlanta Falcons faced two playoff contenders after their bye week in the Saints and the Panthers. While some were expected for the Falcons to play better, no one expected them to look damn near elite as they won both games in blowout fashion.

The Falcons went to New Orleans and gave the Drew Brees led Saints all they wanted and more. Many were expecting this to be a big Atlanta Falcons loss but that wasn’t the case.

The defense was able to get to Brees six times and held Alvin Kamara in check for the entire game. The 26-9 final score doesn’t do the domination by the Falcons any justice. This must have been a fluke win for the Falcons, right?

The very next week, they go into Carolina and do the same. They picked off Kyle Allen four-times and got him to the ground five times.

The fact that this team has been able to dominate their last two opponents has to be frustrating and people are now wondering “Where has this been all season?”

If the Falcons had been playing this way for the entire season, they would have been one of the Super Bowl favorites and there wouldn’t be any questions about Dan Quinn’s job security. Even though they aren’t technically eliminated from the playoffs, it’s too little, too late for the Dirty Birds.

Regardless of record, this will be just another “what could have been” season for the Atlanta Falcons.