Jarrett Bell

USA TODAY Sports

ATLANTA — Reset.

That’s the key term coach Dan Quinn has incorporated into the Atlanta Falcons' terminology this season, its mere mention conceivably promoting a certain zeal and focus. Hey, in terms of getting one’s attention, it seems more optimistic than yelling “fire!” — the distress signal uttered on football fields when all hell breaks loose with bad snaps and the like.

“It came out of the time we spent in the offseason with the Navy SEALs,” quarterback Matt Ryan explained to USA TODAY Sports, following Atlanta's 38-19 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.

During the offseason conditioning program in April, Quinn brought in a group largely made up of former SEALs to work with the Falcons for a week. The key objectives including team-building and resilience.

“We did all sorts of stuff and no football,” Ryan said. “They carry these big logs as part of their training. When you get tired, their thing is that you reset all together to take the stress off or whatever. So that buzzword has stuck with us.”

The Falcons needed to reset on Sunday in more ways than one.

Before and after halftime, they fumbled the momentum. A Ryan interception with 25 seconds before intermission led to a 54-yard Arizona field goal that cut the lead to four points. Then they allowed four sacks (one wiped out by a penalty) on the opening drive of the third quarter.

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There was no panic, Ryan insisted. The second drive of the third quarter went 77 yards in 13 plays, culminating in a touchdown, and the Falcons were on their way.

After a stinging loss at Philadelphia in Week 10 before their bye week, the Falcons (7-4) needed a reset for their psyche, not to mention keeping their grip on the NFC South lead. (The Tampa Bay Bucs are suddenly just a game behind first-place Atlanta.) This is not the time for a slide.

Remember last year? The Falcons came out of the gate 5-0, then couldn’t even make the playoffs after an inglorious fade. As this season unfolds, they are challenged to avoid another plummet.

“We’re mentally tougher,” Ryan said. “More resilient than last year. Having gone through that as a young team makes you that way. It gives you a little more grit. It’s encouraging to see that from the guys.”

When a dome team leads the NFL in scoring as the Falcons do, history has provided reason to wonder whether they can withstand getting punched in the mouth by big-time defenses. But the Falcons have held their own this season. They won at Denver, running circles around one of the NFL’s best defenses. They might have won at Seattle, too, if not for officials missing a last-minute pass interference call against wideout Julio Jones.

Arizona brought the No. 1-ranked defense to Atlanta on Sunday. No, these aren’t the Cards of last year, but they still have plenty of playmakers.

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But the Falcons demonstrated toughness in fighting adversity and then showed just how many dimensions they can unleash to put the pressure on an opponent rather than the other way around. Ryan completed passes to eight different targets. And with the biggest and baddest of them all, Jones, limited to four catches for 35 yards while primarily covered by all-pro cornerback Patrick Peterson, the back-breaking plays came from a fast little slot receiver named Taylor Gabriel, who took two short screen passes and turned them into scintillating touchdowns (35 and 25 yards) to provide the sizzle to the win.

“It feels good to be a part of this brotherhood,” said Gabriel, who also jump-started a field goal drive with a 27-yard run on a reverse and finished with 102 yards from scrimmage. “Good to play for something that means something.”

Understood. Gabriel, a third-year pro, spent his first two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, who are currently 0-for-2016.

Being in the midst of a playoff race means providing explosive plays for a balanced attack that includes Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, too.

As Quinn put it: “If you’re suiting up, you’re going to be in the action.”

Jones beamed as he stood at a stall a few feet from Gabriel, extolling the virtues of someone else stepping up when defenses clamp down on him. He was hardly fazed by his personal stat line.

“We got the W,” Jones told USA TODAY Sports. “I play to get the W.”

As the Falcons try to grow into their own vision, "win" represents the ultimate buzzword.

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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell

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