2018 NFL Power Rankings Week 6: Eagles lose tough battle of NFC Championship rematch

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 07: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to pass against defensive end Brandon Graham #55 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on October 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 07: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to pass against defensive end Brandon Graham #55 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on October 7, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

26. Atlanta Falcons

Is it time for the Atlanta Falcons to officially hit the panic button after suffering another tough loss? On paper, the Falcons seemed like they were talented enough to make a strong case to eventually become the first team to play in their own stadium for the Super Bowl, which all of a sudden looks like a long shot.

Defense has been a major issue for Atlanta so far in 2018, and seeing them end up on the losing end to the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-17 shows this team hasn’t made any progress when it comes to the unit playing better. Over the last couple of years, the Falcons’ defense has slowly been on the rise with a bunch of young talent to work with, but that’s been far from the case so far this year.

Between James Conner and Antonio Brown each finding the end zone twice, Atlanta simply had no answers when it came to stopping all of the high-powered talent on Pittsburgh’s offense. Sitting at 1-4, this was the last position anyone expected the Falcons to be in at the start of the season, and now as a result, they have a lot of work to do over these next few weeks.