Defense shines bright in Atlanta Falcons Season-Opener

The Atlanta Falcons defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Week One.

ATLANTA , Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) –Due to a strong defensive effort, the Atlanta Falcons opened their 2023 campaign with a 24-10 victory over divisional opponent, the Carolina Panthers.

However, the big talk of the offseason for the Atlanta Falcons has been the rookie phenom Bijan Robinson, and coincidentally, he scored the Dirty Birds’ first points of the season with a sweet ankle-breaking move and reached the end zone on the third drive of the game.

“You’ve got to get that first game out of the way to get used to the speed of the game. And then your next games, that’s when you start building momentum and confidence, but I feel like it was a great first game for me,” said Robinson.

Robinson’s counterpart, Tyler Allegier, built off his tremendous rookie season as he had 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

As for the commander of the offense, Desmond Ridder had an average game, with just 115 passing yards and one touchdown, but what mattered most is that he didn’t make any big mistakes.

“For Des, I think he did a really good job of not turning the ball over today. That’s the biggest thing,” said Falcons’ safety Jessie Bates III. “As a quarterback, you can’t turn the ball over and put your team in those messed-up situations. That’s how you lose.”

Now, for the first time in a long time, it can be said that the defense won the game for Atlanta. One of their major defensive offseason signings, Bates III, had two interceptions and 10 tackles in his first game as a Falcon.

“People should feel good. It’s hard to win in this league. It’s a one-week season, as I said before, but this city deserves it. This team deserves it,” said Bates III.

Speaking of deserving, Middle Georgia native Bud Dupree has been in the NFL for nine seasons, so it’s about time he played in front of his home crowd.

“It feels great, especially coming off a win and being able to play for my hometown. It’s awesome. A lot of family and friends came today, so it’s always a great opportunity when you can feel the love,” said Dupree.

Feeling love is great, and the Falcons will feel it from their fans once more in Week Two as they are back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosting the Green Bay Packers at 1 p.m.