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.

Despite the four turnovers, Atlanta still had a chance to win, which is a testament to how well the defense played. With the loss, the Falcons are 6-6 and clinging to a slim division lead by way of tiebreaker. Kirk Cousins played his worst game of the season at the worst possible time.

In a game neither team seemed eager to win, the Los Angeles Chargers relied on their defense — especially rookie cornerback Tarheeb Still — to hand Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons their third straight loss.

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,