Atlanta Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich Admits to Sleepless Nights Preparing for Josh Allen

Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich came from the New York Jets, where he had to face Buffalo Bills quarterback twice a year.

Atlanta Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich got a look at Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen twice a year as DC with the New York Jets. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons' defense is one of the biggest surprises across the NFL in the early parts of 2025. Everyone expected improvement over the 2024 unit because the bar was set so low. However, to be the No. 1 defense in the NFL in yards per game and DVOA after five weeks was beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

The Falcons brought back defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to lead the young unit that has been infused with premium draft picks the last two years, and the move has paid off. Granted, facing a rusty Week 1 Baker Mayfield, J.J. McCarthy, Bryce Young, and Marcus Mariota isn't exactly murderer's row of offenses.

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Though any Falcons fan who watched the 2023 team and saw Will Levis get his helmet into the Hall of Fame after his first-ever start and Josh Dobbs leading the Vikings to victory after hopping off MARTA at the end of the first quarter and joining the Vikings, knows even bad quarterbacks tend to have good days against the Falcons.

That's a long way of saying Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will challenge the Falcons' defense on Monday Night Football in a way they haven't seen this year.

The Falcons have had an extra week to prepare for the Bills with a Week 5 bye, but that just may have meant more sleepless nights for defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Ulbrich came from the New York Jets before re-joining the Falcons and faced Allen twice a year in the AFC East.

“To be completely honest, being in the division for the last four years with him, I've gone up against this guy a lot in the team. And you don't get a lot of sleep on this week, for a lot of reasons," Ulbrich said on Thursday. "There's productive paranoia. There's a lot of things that occur. He just challenges you in so many ways."

Allen is the reigning MVP, so Ulbrich's praise isn't just coach-speak.

"Josh is, you make an argument, he's the best football player in the NFL right now – offense, defense, otherwise. So, he's tough. He's going to challenge our guys’ discipline as far as the way we rush him. He's going to challenge us on the back end, the way he throws the ball. He's surrounded with a skill group now that's better than he's had, in my opinion, in the last couple of years, so that's a problem as well.

"And when they get the run game going and they got everything popping, it can make it a very difficult task. So, we're going to have to play our best football. It's going to be, like I told the guys this morning, we’ve got to earn the right to win this game. And that means this week, it's got to be championship-level prep, as it always is, but we’ve got to go to another space.”

The Bills don't have any household names at receiver, but they still have the No. 7 passing offense in the NFL. Five players have more than 10 receptions, but no one has more than 22. Tight end Dalton Kincaid leads the team in yards (287) and touchdowns (3) and will be a big test for linebacker Divine Deablo and slot corner Billy Bowman Jr.

However, first and foremost, the Falcons have to stop the running game. The Falcons' offensive blueprint and the Bills are similar - establish the run to set up the pass. The Bills have the NFL's No. 2 rushing attack (Atlanta is No. 6).

James Cook is second in the NFL in rushing with 450 yards.

“Yeah, it felt a lot better when they didn't have an elite running back there because, like I said, when they get everything going, when the run game's going, then the play pass gets going, and the keepers get going," Ulbrich said.

"And we obviously know what he can do just as a pure drawback passer. Then you mix in his special, Superman stuff, and it's just, yeah. There's bags under my eyes for a reason. He's a pain in the butt, he is. He's a generational player. People use that term way too often, but he is that. It’s cool because it's like national TV.

"It's a great opportunity to see where we stand, to play the best offense maybe in the league, and see where we stand.”

Atlanta Falcons fans have had fun claiming the No. 1 defense in the NFL for the last week, but they know the rubber hits the road on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills.

And they can count on their defensive coordinator burning the midnight oil, because he's not sleeping as Josh Allen and the Bills loom.

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