He touted the effort of outside linebackers Lorenzo Carter and Arnold Ebiketie, the consistency of defensive tackles Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata, the stout play of defensive tackle Kentavius Street and the versatility of inside linebacker Kaden Elliss.

The Atlanta Falcons returned from their bye week to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Despite a promising start and an elite performance from Atlanta’s defense, the Falcons could not overcome Kirk Cousins’ four interceptions and lost, 17-13, to drop to 6-6 on the season.

The Falcons didn’t exactly shake up their starting lineup coming out of the break, and their snap counts weren’t hugely different than they were before the bye. What changed was real improvement from several defenders,

Six division matchups and Kirk Cousins' return to Minnesota highlight a lighter Week 14 schedule. Six teams aren’t playing as the NFL wraps up its final week of byes before going to a full slate over the last four weeks.

Full NFL predictions for Week 13 with picks straight-up and against the spread for every game, from the Lions hosting the Packers for a huge rivalry game on Thursday night to the Chiefs trying to stifle the Chargers on Sunday Night Football and much more.