by Sports Xchange

"The last two games he's been back there," defensive line coach Ray Hamilton said. "He didn't get a sack against New Orleans, but he was back there a lot. He got a sack and he had his hands on the guy a few other times (on Sunday) and couldn't quite get him down."

--Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton thought the defense relaxed after the Falcons built a 24-3 lead against the Redskins.

"We have to keep the same intensity," said Lofton, who leads the league with 84 tackles. "They came out and played ball."

--Linebacker Mike Peterson and Lofton were credited with the key fourth-and-1 stop of Mike Sellers.

"We definitely didn't want to lose three games (in a row)," Peterson said.

The defense still wants to put together an entire game.

"We are getting ready to enter the third quarter of the season," Peterson said. "We had a little good and a little bad."

--The Falcons have opened the last three games with touchdown drives on their first possession, but then seem to get bogged down once they are off their script.

"It's just a little bit of inconsistency," Pro Bowler Roddy White said. "Getting penalties and stuff like that is hurting us."

--The Falcons totaled 5.0 sacks in the first half against Washington, tying a team record that was set on three other occasions. The Falcons had sacks from Abraham, Kroy Biermann, Chevis Jackson and 2.5 from Jonathan Babineaux.