The Atlanta Falcons' offense was supposed to be the strength of the team last season, but they scored just 21.2 points per game, which ranked 21st in the NFL. Football Outsiders' DVOA ratings, explained here, ranked the Falcons even lower, at No. 23.
Nobody would have expected the Falcons to lead the NFL in scoring in 2016, but that offense came out massively improved. Matt Ryan had an MVP-level season, and the offense has now powered the Falcons into the NFC Championship Game.
But the Falcons aren't the only team that turned things around this season. Here's a look at the units that improved the most in 2016, how they did it and how likely they are to maintain that improvement in 2017.
OFFENSE
Dallas Cowboys
2015: -15.6% DVOA (31st)
2016: 20.4% DVOA (3rd)
Atlanta Falcons
2015: -7.3% DVOA (23rd)
2016: 25.3% DVOA (1st)
Dallas and Atlanta each rank among the 10 most-improved offenses of the past 25 years, according to Football Outsiders' numbers. But it's Atlanta's improvement this year that truly stands out.
Twelve different teams since 1992 ranked in the top-10 in offensive DVOA after improving by 30 percentage points or more. Every one of those teams had either a new quarterback, a new offensive coordinator, or both -- except for the 2016 Falcons. Atlanta has the same quarterback, No. 1 wide receiver, No. 1 running back and offensive coordinator the team had in 2015, yet they scored 12.6 more points per game and went from 23rd to first in DVOA.