Falcons Defense Praised for Executing Plan vs. Panthers' Bryce Young

Bryce Young presented some challenges for the Atlanta Falcons defense, but they were able to get the better of the Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback.

The Atlanta Falcons defense is flying high after surrendering just 10 points in a win against Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Falcons defense made it a mission to play fast against the No. 1 overall pick in his first NFL start.

"In the beginning, we wanted to speed it up a little bit, light it up, get his reads a little quicker," safety Richie Grant said. "They did do a little tempo increase in there sometimes. So, it was hard to get some pressure calls in, but overall, I think, it was a little balanced.”

The first drive nearly resulted in a score, but the Falcons were able to get a crucial fourth-down stop inside the red zone. Just two plays into the second defensive possession, defensive back Jessie Bates III grabbed the first of his two interceptions of the day.

“I feel like I had a good feel for what they wanted to do today," Bates said. "That they had to get him comfortable, they want to get the ball out quick, kick the ball inside the hashes, so I kind of took advantage of that.” 

However, Young was able to settle down and even led a touchdown drive in the second quarter to tie the game 7-7.

“We just made adjustments at halftime, came in, got the things we messed up on and fixed them," Lorenzo Carter said. "Our coaches did a great job coming in and making sure we all settled down and trusted the coaching and just trusting our trainers.”

While the Panthers scored a field goal in the first second-half possession to take a 10-7 lead, it was the last points Atlanta would give up. The Falcons kept the Panthers scoreless as the offense started catching fire with a pair of touchdown drives in the fourth quarter.

"That fourth quarter we were humming, everybody take a turn," Campbell said. "I get put in pressure and he made some, he made some good throws, threw the ball away a little bit, but after him. That's all that matters is just put pressure, a sack or not. Just got to keep coming. Be better going forward in the next series.”

There are pros and cons playing a rookie quarterback, and teams that don't execute a gameplan against them can be susceptible to a bad loss. Luckily for the Falcons, the team was able to figure it out and grab a win.

The Falcons aim to improve to 2-0 next week when the Green Bay Packers come to town. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.