For the first time this season, the Falcons had a legitimate pass rush.
The defense posted a season-high five sacks and had eight quarterback hits in the 17-13 loss to the Chargers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie had two sacks, inside linebacker Kaden Elliss, defensive tackle David Onyemata and defensive tackle Kentavious Streety each had a sack.
Ebiketie and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett had a two quarterback hits. Outside linebacker Matt Judon, Elliss, Street and Onyemata each had a quarterback hit.
“We should have been six,” Jarrett said. “I missed that one there at the end. I had him and let him go. We still got the stop and got off the field.”
The Falcons entered the game with just 10 sacks, which ranked last in the league.
“It was just amazing improvement by the whole group,” Jarrett said. “Super excited to continue to build off of that. Continue to hunt. Super encouraging because everybody got a piece of him. It was just great-great to be a part of. We want to continue to build off that performance.”
Falcons coach Raheem Morris was understandably not in the mood celebrate the pass rush after the costly four-interception performance from quarterback Kirk Cousins.
“I won’t go into the pass rush today,” Morris said. “We’ll go look at it and see what went well. We did better. I watched the guys. Give the guys credit. They got the sacks rushing the passer. They were able to create some things for us on defense. I’ll will watch the tape, find out what we did really well and hopefully, it’s repeatable.”
Linebacker Troy Andersen returned to action and had one tackle.
“I think that’s one of those things that we’ve been working to detail and dial in on,” Andersen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That’s something that’s going to be important for us going forward. You have to be able to affect the quarterback, especially good quarterbacks like Justin Herbert. We are going to have to continue doing that going forward.”
Linebacker Nate Landman finished with four tackles and was excited about the pass-rush.
“That was awesome to see those guys get going,” Landman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a big emphasis this week and the past weeks. Today, that dam kind of broke. They got to the quarterback.”
The sacks were uplifting to the unit.
“Those guys were rushing hard,” Landman said. “They got their opportunity. They capitalized on them. That was good to see. When that happens, our defense plays better. We get off the field and it helps out our offense. A big credit for those guys getting that job done this week. Happy to see them do it again next week.”
The rush also helped the secondary which did a solid job in coverage except for letting former Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey loose for a 49-yard gain and giving up a two-point conversion catch to Joshua Palmer.
“It was amazing it was good,” cornerback Clark Phillips III said. “Got a lot of sacks. Helped us get some turnovers, stuff like that. We just have to continue capitalize.”
Andersen was back after missing the Denver game with his left knee injury.
“It’s always fun to play,” Andersen said. “It would have been more fun to win. There are going to be some things that we can build on going forward. Get corrected and get back in the win column.”
Morris’ message to the team after the loss was simple.
“We control our own destiny, but it’s up to us to go and take it,” Andersen said. “It starts with us at practice. (Going over the) game film (on Monday). Then yeah, just taking it one week at a time and getting back in the win column. We know we have the right guys and we’re excited to move forward.”
Landman was not worried about how the team will bounce back from this loss, the team’s third in a row after racing out to a 6-3 mark.
“You’ve seen the resiliency of this team,” Landman said. “The guys that are on this team.... They kind of guys they bring in. That’s the least of my worries of us bouncing back.”
Landman believes the team responded well from the loss to Seattle earlier this season.
“This is something that we’ll bounce back from and something that we’ve had experience in the past, so we know how to deal with it,” Landman said. “I still love this team and the guys in the room. I’m excited for what we’ve got coming up. We are 6-6. All of our opportunities are in front of us.”
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