Outside of just returning for the playoffs for the first time in almost a decade, the Atlanta Falcons had clear intent when they hired Kevin Stefanski. The intention was to play more physical, smash-mouth football in order to improve on both sides of the trenches and control the line of scrimmage more.
Dating back to their opening pressers, this new regime has made it clear the vision between Stefanski, Ian Cunningham, and Matt Ryan is a shared one, and that level of toughness up front (on both sides of the ball) has already started to pay dividends for the Falcons after just three games.
Through three weeks of the 2026 season, diverting from previous Falcons' strategies has worked like a charm. According to Ian Haritz, the Falcons lead the NFL in two different statistics that back this up just how much they have improved in the trenches: both pressure rate allowed and pressure rate.
The Falcons at the line of scrimmage:
- 24.4% pressure rate allowed (lowest in the NFL)
- 44.2% pressure rate (highest in the NFL)
That means that the offensive line has been keeping the QBs protected (which is good news for Michael Penix Jr.) while Jeff Ulbrich's defense has been rushing four, yet they're still getting home. In Week 3 against the Packers, they only blitzed Jordan Love on 18% of his drop-backs, yet still amassed 32 total pressures.
The Atlanta Falcons have improved on both sides at the line of scrimmage
The impressive part here is that Atlanta's been without both Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., yet are atop the NFL In pressure rate and near of the league in pass-rush win rate. This has been done with an army of rotational edge players while the interior does most of the heavy lifting, which is rare.
This is all because the Dirty Birds' new regime sought to bring in players who actually fit this vision. They traded Ruke Orhorhoro for Maason Smith, acquired Gervon Dexter, drafted Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr., and signed Za'Darius Smith, Samson Ebukam, and Cameron Thomas on defense.
You have to give Ulbrich and Nate Ollie credit for all of the juice their system has squeezed out of the defensive line given the circumstances. But another pooint of contention was improving at defending the run, and no team has surrendered less rushing yards per game than the one in red and black.
And then on offense, the only noticeable personnel change was signing Jawaan Taylor to start at right tackle following Kaleb McGary's retirement. But they replaced former OL coach Dwayne Ledford with Bill Callahan, which has seen Bijan Robinson again lead the NFL in scrimmage yards.
The Falcons' 1-2 start is more about having to start Cooper Rush for two games than anything else, but it's clear there is something different about this team. This new staff has enforced a new culture we haven't seen in quite some time, and the sky's the limit as long as we get semi-competent QB play.
This team-building model has helped other teams win Super Bowls, and the early returns are showing Kevin Stefanski (and Ian Cunningham) were right to emulate that trend now that it could break the Atlanta Falcons' playoff drought.
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