9 Things I Learned From Week 1 of the NFL Season

Atlanta Is Back

Perhaps no win was more impressive on Sunday than the one we saw out of Atlanta.

The Falcons entered the season trying to turn things around after going 4-12 last year, as injuries derailed their 2013 campaign. Julio Jones is back on offense, and while the defense is still porous, the offense may be able to do enough to carry the team this year.

And we saw just that on Sunday.

The Saints secondary is strong, especially adding Jairus Byrd over the offseason. They were top 10 in the league at stopping the pass according to our metrics last season, and adding a Pro Bowl safety should only help that.

Matt Ryan doesn’t really care. He was the top quarterback on Sunday by far, tossing 448 yards and three scores, good for a 128.83 quarterback rating.

Ryan had his second-worst season last year under the unfortunate circumstances, but given this start, we could be prepared to see his best under center in Atlanta.

If the team can get their act together defensively, it’s not crazy to think that they can win the division. And our algorithms actually ranked them as the 12th-best team in the NFL prior to the start of the season. The Falcons are back.