Quarterback Matt Ryan has really upped his game this season, throwing a career-best 411 yard game in the Falcons' first loss of the season vs division rivals New Orleans Saints, and also throwing 300 yards+ in 4 games has firmly put him in the running to be one of the season's best quarterbacks.
The Falcon's running game does need some work if they are to become serious Super Bowl contenders, as top rusher Michael Turner has only rushed for over 100 yards once this season, against Carolina Panthers.
So they're playing well, but do they have what it takes to go all the way and win their first championship?
Their schedule has so far been kind to them, playing teams that, in most cases, Falcons will have been firm favourites for. They started with a convincing 40-24 win at Kansas City Chiefs, and followed that up with an impressive 27-21 victory over Peyton Manning's new side, Denver Broncos, at the Georgia Dome.
Falcons then continued their good start by destroying the Chargers 27-3 in San Diego, then sneaked past Carolina Panthers 30-28, thanks to a last-gasp field goal by Matt Bryant, their first real scare.
Atlanta moved to 5-0 for the first time in franchise history with a 24-17 victory over Robert Griffin III's Washington Redskins, then another game-winning field goal by Bryant gave them a 23-20 win over Oakland Raiders at home.
Former Falcon favourite Michael Vick could not stop Atlanta on their visit to Philadelphia as they comfortably beat the Eagles 30-17, and then a 19-13 win at home to Dallas Cowboys gave them a perfect record for the first half of the season.
Their streak had largely gone unnoticed until they reached 6-0, largely because of the seasons of other big teams, such as New Orleans Saints poor start and the Seattle Seahawks controversial win over Green Bay Packers.
Falcons finally lost last Sunday when they travelled to New Orleans for their game against the rejuvenated Saints, still suffering from the effects of Head Coach Sean Payton's season ban for his part in the Saints' bounty scandal in 2009. However Saints were improving, and despite some shocking losses in their 0-4 start, namely to Panthers and Chiefs, had gone 4-1 before Sunday, losing only to Broncos away in that streak.
Falcons raced into a 10-0 lead, their touchdown being tight end Tony Gonzalez's record-breaking 100th of his illustrious career, and looked favourites to grab their first win in the Big Easy since 2010. But Saints hit back to lead 21-17 after an entertaining first half, with Saints quarterback Drew Brees extending his record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass to 52.
In the second half, Marques Colston tied Deuce McAllister's record for most touchdowns in Saints colours, 55, to extend Saints' lead to 11. Falcons brought it back to 1 point with a touchdown and field goal, but Saints hit a field goal of their own to ensure Atlanta needed a touchdown to win the game. Falcons drove down to Saints' 1 yard line, but the NFL's worst defence held firm to deny Falcons a chance to match the 1972 Miami Dolphins' undefeated season.
It was this loss that showed the NFL the Falcons are not as good as they are made out to be, and that whilst they have put in some top-class performances this season, they are definitely not unbeatable.
Also when the playoffs come around and they are inevitably qualified for them, history suggests they are likely to struggle to get past their first game. In the last 3 seasons they have made the postseason (2008, 2010, 2011), they have lost in their first game. Interestingly, in the last 2 seasons, they have lost to the Super Bowl champions (Green Bay Packers and New York Giants), and in 2008 they lost to defeated finalists Arizona Cardinals.
So in conclusion it seems that Atlanta can defeat the smaller teams, but when it comes to the bigger teams, Saints, Packers, Bears, they will struggle and thus have a hard time if they want to win the Super Bowl for the first time in their history.
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