» Falcons seem to have suddenly found their pass rush,

Defense no longer last in NFL in sacks after performance vs. Saints.

FLOWERY BRANCH — The most bizarre thing to come out of the Falcons’ 26-9 win over the Saints on Sunday was their newfound pass rush.

The Falcons (2-7) hope to continue their pass-rushing prowess when they face the Panthers (5-4) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

The Panthers have been sacked 29 times, which ranks 24th in the NFL. The Falcons now have 13 sacks, which ranks tied for 31st. The Falcons went four games and parts of two other games without getting a sack. Between the Vic Beasley-Takk McKinley sack against the Colts with 9:50 to play in the third quarter Sept. 22 and Grady Jarrett’s sack of Russell Wilson with 8:52 left in the third quarter of the Seattle game Oct. 27, the Falcons went 357 defensive snaps without a sack.

But against the Saints, the Falcons dropped quarterback Drew Brees early and often. They finished with six sacks and 11 quarterbacks hits. Now, with 13 overall sacks, the Falcons no longer rank last in the league. The Miami Dolphins, who have 10 sacks, are last.

With redistribution of some of the coaching duties since the Arizona game, Falcons coach Dan Quinn has been able to spend more time with the pass rushers.

“I kind of use the analogy of being a mechanic and looking under the hood,” Quinn said. “What’s not right and what’s not going? You make some changes and adjustments, close the hood and try to start it up again. For us, we started it up again and we had better communication.”

Quinn liked that three of the sacks came on third down to help the defense get off the field — a point of emphasis. Beasley’s sack came on a fourth down. “We were also fortunate early that we knocked them back with some tackles for losses or a penalty, which created some matchups that we liked better,” Quinn said.

Quinn didn’t want to take any credit for the pass-rushing outburst. “I was happy for the players,” Quinn said. “Because they’ve been working hard at that. So when you don’t get the results and you’re kind of working and trying, and still not meeting the mark that you set, it gets frustrating. There’s doubt and disappointment that creeps in.”