The Atlanta Falcons' baffling 1-4 start suddenly feels like it took place in July, instead of merely four weeks ago.
On Sunday, the Falcons steamrolled the NFC East-leading Redskins 38-14, a road triumph that was equal parts thorough, electric and fulfilling.
The fulfilling part comes in the form of Atlanta (winners of three straight) climbing back to .500 for the season, while sitting just one game out of Wild Card #2 contention.
There was also the small matter of Julio Jones registering his first touchdown of the season–momentarily quieting the legion of haters who believed Jones would go an entire year without scoring.
However, Jones can now move forward without that statistically odd monkey on his back.
The Falcons' usual suspects inflicted damage on offense, with quarterback Matt Ryan (350 yards passing, 4 TDs), tailback Tevin Coleman (154 total yards, 2 TDs), Jones (7 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD) and rookie Calvin Ridley (seventh touchdown of the season) shredding Washington's typically stout defense.
And for good measure, rookie Ito Smith found the end zone for the fourth time in five games.
Not bad for a fourth-round pick deemed as a needless luxury during the summer, when the Falcons had Coleman and Devonta Freeman healthy.
With the victory, Atlanta (4-4, 3rd in the NFC South) still harbors realistic hopes of reaching the NFC playoffs; and the club can catch fire during this daunting stretch of six road games in nine weeks, a division title would remain a plausible objective.
