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Falcons Lead NFL in Pass Rush Win Rate And Without Their Young Edge Rushers
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- Falcons Lead NFL in Pass Rush Win Rate And Without Their Young Edge Rushers
The Atlanta Falcons finished their 2025 season with 57 sacks, breaking the previous record of 55 that's stood since 1997. To understand how exciting that was, you have to understand how putrid Atlanta's past rush has been. Former head coach Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich added two young studs, edge rusher James Pearce Jr. and linebacker Jalon Walker , to a ragtag group of edge rushers headlined by Leonard Floyd and completely turned the edge-rushing unit around.
That could have been an outlier, especially with Morris exiting at season's end. Without either of their edge-rushing phenoms because of suspension and injury, how has Ulbrich kept pace so far this season?
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After three weeks of play, Atlanta tops the NFL in pass-rush win rate ahead of the Bills and the Patriots , at 67.2%. The Vikings , with a higher blitz rate, rank fourth at 52.3%, and the Steelers , who faced an awful Cooper Rush in Week One, sit 5th with a 50.9%.
Pearce Jr. got into legal trouble in Miami , and the league handed him an eight-game suspension. The Falcons now have five more games to survive without him, and survive they may. Walker, meanwhile, suffered a non-contact injury at camp and is out for the season, so what did Ulbrich do to control the line of scrimmage?
Ulbrich has been using a combination of defensive ends and linebackers in a rotation to create a pass rush with just four linemen. Minnesota has the highest blitz rate in the league at 75.9%. But Atlanta has logged more wins in the pressure department, and they're doing it without arguably their best two pass rushers, Pearce Jr. and Walker.
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The interior linemen have also found ways to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Atlanta's acquisition of defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. —via trade with the Bears —is already paying dividends. He accounts for 15 of Atlanta's 34 total pressures, which leads all NFL interior defenders. In just 27 snaps against Green Bay, he had a pressure rate of 18.5%. He and defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus have combined for 37 pressures, the most by an interior defensive line duo this season.
Along with creating pressure and moving quarterbacks off their spot, the sacks are starting to come on as well. Free-agent acquisition Za'Darius Smith is leading the unit with 2.5 sacks; edge rusher Cameron Thomas has 1.5, and Dexter Sr. has 0.5.
Ulbrich has a lot on his plate, missing three of his top defensive players, including star cornerback A.J. Terrell, but so far he has made the necessary adjustments to make this defense not just serviceable, but scary.
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That high-pressure win rate will be imperative on Monday Night Football when the Falcons take on the Saints in New Orleans in Week 4. Getting young quarterback Tyler Shough off the field as often as possible will go a long way toward securing another prime-time victory.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
