'Good D-Line!' Falcons Pass Rush Rising or Falling After 3 Weeks?

The Atlanta Falcons made several moves along the defensive front this offseason but have seen many of the same troubles persist.

For the first time this season, the Atlanta Falcons failed to record a sack during Sunday's 20-6 loss to the Detroit Lions ... but their pass rush still had a productive day with glimpses of encouraging signs.

An inability to apply pressure has long haunted the Falcons, who ranked last in the NFL in sacks over the past two seasons by a considerable margin.

But that was supposed to change this year, headlined by a number of new additions including defensive tackle David Onyemata, defensive end Calais Campbell and outside linebacker Bud Dupree, among others.

And yet, through three games, Atlanta sits No. 30 league-wide with only three sacks. There are currently 18 individual players that have at least three sacks already. Pittsburgh Steelers star outside linebacker T.J. Watt has doubled the Falcons' total.

That said, Atlanta, led by new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, has made considerable strides in the pressure department.

Last season, the Falcons had just 69 total quarterback hits. This year, they're already at 21 and are on pace to reach 119 by years end, improving by some 50 hits.

Sacks are hard to come by, but Nielsen and Falcons coach Arthur Smith have long preached that pressures and hits are incredibly important, even if defenders aren't fully getting home.

Of course, Atlanta would prefer the number to be higher - but it's still drawing praise for its disruptive front, including from Lions coach Dan Campbell.

"That’s a good d-line," Campbell said. "They rotated them, but that first d-line in there, they’re tough now. Grady Jarrett and Onyemata and Campbell, so we knew we had our work cut out for us. It was going to be a challenge."

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 24: Jared Goff #16 of the Detroit Lions is hit as he passes by Bud Dupree #48 of the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter of a game at Ford Field on September 24, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan.

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Falcons, even without recording a sack, left their mark on Lions quarterback Jared Goff.

Jarrett finished the afternoon with three quarterback hits, while Onyemata added two more and a tackle for loss. Dupree and Campbell each had one, the latter also drawing a holding penalty on a passing down.

Third-year safety Richie Grant had two more as a blitzer, bringing the total to nine and showing some of Nielsen's creativity and variety in his rush packages.

And so, while it would be easy to look at the goose egg in the sack column and assume Atlanta's pass rush was nonexistent against Goff's Lions, the reality is quite a bit different.

"Every time I looked back there, (Goff) was on his back," Falcons cornerback Tre Flowers said.

The interior of Atlanta's defensive line has been stout thus far, with Jarrett (six) and Onyemata (four) combining for 10 quarterback hits in three games. They were billed as an exciting duo and have more than delivered thus far.

It's not exactly the same story outside, though Campbell and second-year Arnold Ebiketie both have two hits while veteran Lorenzo Carter has one to go along with a sack.

So sure, the Falcons would prefer to have more than just three sacks ... but they also place heavy emphasis on moving the quarterback off his landmark and have taken a big step forward in terms of generating pressure.

And that, by all accounts, is quite the encouraging development.