Giants vs. Falcons: Mike Smith happy with the bounce back win against tough Giants squad

As the season draws to a close, the Atlanta Falcons rebounded from a surprising loss to the Carolina Panthers last weekend with a resounding victory over the New York Giants in Week 15, which Falcons coach Mike Smith saw as the team coming together at the right moment.

"I thought that we rebounded very well from our performance from last week," Smith said during the postgame press conference. "We didn't play up to our standards and expectations and we knew we would have to play beyond them this week. I thought that we did that in all three phases. They don't remember what you do in September and October. It's all about December and January."

The timing of the victory over the Giants, which are in playoff contention, was especially important to Smith, who also noted the particularly strong performance out of his defense.

"We put pressure on the quarterback," Smith said. "It was an outstanding effort across the board. That's an explosive football team that last week put up 52 points. I'm really proud of the way the guys played."