NFL Power Rankings: Falcons Rise Up
The Atlanta Falcons got their first win of the season last week when they beat the New York Giants 17-14.
Younghoe Koo it a game-winning field goal with time expiring to give new head coach Arthur Smith his first win as a head coach.
READ MORE: Why wasn't Kyle Pitts more Involved vs. Giants?
The battle was between two 0-2 teams, and the Falcons made the key plays while the Giants made key mistakes.
Atlanta has been rewarded in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings with a bump from 29 to 25.
Michael Rothstein writes of the Falcons:
Matt Ryan has become a short-field passer this season under new coach Arthur Smith and without star receiver Julio Jones, registering his lowest yards per attempt (6.04) and yards per dropback (5.29) of his career so far. That could have to do with how often he has been hit -- so far a career-worst 20.7% of the time -- yet he is on pace to complete a career-high 70.9% of his passes. Atlanta's offense hasn't been pretty for much of the season, and there haven't been many shot plays involved, which is why the Falcons' QBR is where it is.
The Giants took Atlanta's previous spot at 29, falling one spot.
The Washington Football team is next up for the Falcons. Washington got throttled by the Buffalo Bills last week 43-21 and held their 22nd ranking in ESPN's power rankings.
There are a lot of similarities between the early starts by Atlanta and Washington. Both teams are 1-2. Both teams only win came against the Giants, and both teams won on a last second field goal.
The game is at Mercedes-Benz stadium at 1 p.m. on Sunday, and the Falcons have a chance to keep moving up the power rankings against Washington and the New York Jets, ranked 32nd the following week.
