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Falcons just turned into team we expected last season

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NEW ORLEANS – The calendar screams that it’s too early for grand proclamations. Week three games in the NFL don’t decide division titles or playoff berths. They merely give us some sense of direction.

But we just learned something about the Falcons.

They won a game against the defending Super Bowl champions. They won a game on the road and in the Superdome, where they hadn’t won since 2002. They had a 19-play touchdown drive that tested their resilience. They had a field goal drive in overtime when the offensive line assumed control of the game.

More? They had a kicker, Matt Bryant, who had to try three times for a winning field goal because his first two attempts were negated by penalties. They had a defensive end, John Abraham, who came back into the game late despite being relatively blinded in one eye.

Is that a strong enough indication of direction?

The Falcons defeated the New Orleans Saints in overtime Sunday, 27-24. Had they lost, they still would have been publicly embraced for their performance. Instead, they won, and their stature grew.

via Falcons just turned into team we expected last season | Jeff Schultz