3 Reasons to believe the Atlanta Falcons will hold onto NFC South lead

1. Improving defense

What happened to Jimmy Lake during Atlanta's bye week? Every single complaint filed against the Atlanta defensive coordinator was answered against the Chargers. Lake put together a great game plan and was able to use his players in the roles they should have been placed in for the majority of the season.

Not only that but the Falcons dialed up unique pressures that worked and gave Atlanta consistent chances to put Justin Herbert on the ground. Lake's job seemed to be very much in question as Atlanta struggled. Now the heat appears to be turning towards Terry Fontenot and the offense. What an absolute about-face from a coordinator who appeared in over his head.

With that said, it is only one game and the coordinator must continue to show the ability to make these changes and have a level of success. There is a reason to believe he can do just that with games remaining against struggling offenses and turnover prone quarterbacks. There is reason to believe the defense can return the level we watched at the start of the season and against the Chargers. If that happens the bar is extremely low for Atlanta to retain control of the NFC South.