Are the Atlanta Falcons Really This Good?

I'm not saying never. I'm just saying not yet.

With a 56-14 win against the atrocious Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, the Atlanta Falcons move to 2-1 and find themselves a lot closer to the top of the NFC South (and the NFC as a whole) than many critics thought they might be at this point of the year.

With such early success, it will be tempting for people—both inside Atlanta and nationally—to start anointing the Falcons as "back." It was only a couple years ago that the Falcons were driving toward a potential Super Bowl appearance, and many think this year could see their return. 

Nights like Thursday make that seem even more probable.

Just tap the brakes.

As ESPN's Lee Corso would say: "Not so fast, my friends..."

This isn't to temper anyone's enthusiasm. No, not even in the slightest. What this is, though, is a great chance to refocus, admit that this isn't quite the Falcons team that many expected and reassess what this team could achieve in 2014. 

Let's adjust this win total for the thrashing that just happened against Tampa Bay. Heading into Week 3's butt-kicking, the Buccaneers had lost to two backup quarterbacks—the Carolina Panthers' Derek Anderson and St. Louis Rams' Austin Davis (the backup to the backup). 

The Falcons outclassed the Buccaneers in just about every facet of the game. It was embarrassing for Tampa Bay, but it's not like it's a lot more embarrassing than the sort of performances it turned in the first two weeks. 

Maybe the scores haven't been so lopsided, but the defense has been terrible. The Josh McCown-led offense has been lackluster. The receivers (especially Vincent Jackson) have been out of sync. The running game has been a huge question mark. Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times offers this stat:

Needless to say, the Buccaneers aren't exactly the first signature win one would put on their resume. 

My apologies to the St. Louis Rams. 

The other win on the Falcons' resume is starting to look a little suspect as well. Though many (including me) had the New Orleans Saints as Super Bowl contenders this season, not all is right in the Big Easy. Maybe the Falcons are really just that much better than the Saints. (Remember, 37-34 is the slimmest of margins, as the game went to overtime.) Or, rather, maybe the Falcons just caught the Saints at the right time. 

The weirdest thing about this is that it might be a couple weeks before the Falcons really get a nice test.

In Week 4, the Falcons get the Adrian Peterson-less Minnesota Vikings. Week 5? That's the sputtering New York Giants. It isn't until after that when they face the Chicago Bears (at home) and Baltimore Ravens (on the road) that we might get a real taste of what the Falcons can do. 

Then again, we got one of those such tests last week, and the Falcons failed pretty miserably. 

Yeah, remember that game against the Cincinnati Bengals? That's a loss that has to stick in the front of one's brain when dissecting everything about Week 3 against the Buccaneers. The Bengals are one of the top teams in the AFC, and they completely embarrassed the Falcons to the tune of 24-10. That's not quite as bad as the Falcons' Buccaneer thrashing, but it's Exhibit A in the case against Atlanta. 

We can be happy about what the Falcons did against the Buccaneers, knowing that it's proof they're a few light-years ahead of last season's efforts. However, until they go toe-to-toe with the Bengals of the world, there are still unanswered questions. 

What questions? 

I'm glad you asked. 

The Falcons offensive line has performed above expectations, but that's only because the bar was set so incredibly low to begin with. The ability to beat teams like the Buccaneers with so few healthy on the defensive line right now is a far cry from being able to go toe-to-toe with the elite teams in the NFL. 

The running game is connected to those performances. Though Steven Jackson had 54 yards and a touchdown in light work against the Buccaneers, he's been running without burst most of the season. This mimics what he showcased for much of last year, which was mostly nothing of note. Though the Falcons have other weapons in the backfield, they're used far too sparingly and in oft-confusing roles. 

On the defensive side of the ball, it took two-plus weeks for the Falcons to pick up their first sack of the season, and that was against a pitiful Buccaneers line that has had some of the worst interior blocking in the league. 

These aren't small things to wonder about. 

Until the Falcons are able to answer those questions against better competition, it will be hard to truly mention them in that company. 

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.