FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons, who are set to face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, did some advance scouting by way of television on “Monday Night Football.”

They watched intensely as the Philadelphia Eagles rushed through the Carolina offensive line with ease. The Eagles finished with nine sacks in the game.

The Falcons are coming off their best pass rushing game and home to continue their efforts.

Falcons defensive end Osi Umenyiora led the charge against Tampa Bay.

“Stop the run and you’re going to be able to get after the quarterback,” Umenyiora said.

In Sunday’s 27-17 win over Tampa Bay, the Falcons were stout against the run. They held running backs Charles Sims, Michael James and Bobby Rainey to 53 yards on 18 carries for a very respectable 2.9 yards per carry average.

Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown wound up the leading rusher as he scrambled five times for 39 yards, including the Buccaneers’ longest rush of the game, a 15-yard gain.

With the ground game held in check, the Falcons unleashed their best pass-rushing assault of the season, finishing with four sacks and 11 quarterback hits. Both season highs.

Umenyiora (1.5), linebacker Kroy Biermann (1.5) and defensive end/tackle Jonathan Babineaux (1.0) recorded the sacks.

“Kroy probably had his most productive game of the season,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “He was one of the players we recognized for his performance. Not only against the run, he set the edge a couple times and didn’t allow ball to get outside. He put some pressure on the quarterback.”

Umenyiora and Biermann also had three quarterback hits each. Babineaux had two hits. Linebacker Paul Worrilow, safety Dezmen Southward and linebacker Prince Shembo were credited with one quarterback hit each.

The Falcons now have 11 sacks, which moved them ahead of Oakland (eight) and into 31st place in the league.

Smith believes the pass rush numbers against Tampa Bay could have been even higher.

“We left meat on the bone, so to speak,” Smith said. “There were other opportunities. We have to continue to improve in the area of rushing the quarterback.”

The Falcons, aligned to protect against the deep ball, did give up a lot of passing yardage underneath. McCown completed 27 of 43 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

But the Falcons ramped up the pressure as the game went along, which helped to net two late interceptions.

Safety Dwight Lowery made a spectacular diving interception after cornerback Robert Alford tipped a pass. The play was initially called an incompletion but the replay official challenged and then reversed the ruling.

“I knew that I had it,” Lowery said. “I was actually kind of surprised that I had it because normally you don’t see that type of play happen.”

The Falcons defense, which had given up a late game-winning drive in its last outing against Detroit, needed that interception. If Tampa had scored, the score would have closed to 27-24 with almost two minutes remaining for an onside kick and chance to tie. The Bucs also had all three of their timeouts.

“That was a great play,” cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “Dwight just made a great diving catch. It sealed the game.”

Said Worrilow: “That was huge. I knew he caught it. That was just a great reaction on the ball.”

The Falcons are hoping they can continue the defensive progress by mounting a serious pass rush against Newton and the Panthers on Sunday.

SERIES HISTORY: The Falcons lead 23-15. Since Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan told the Panthers to “Get the (expletive) off my field” after a thrilling 30-28 victory on Sept. 30, 2012 at the Georgia Dome, the Panthers have spanked the Falcons in three straight games.

MEDICAL WATCH: WR Drew Davis is closer to full strength in his return from July foot surgery. Davis was a full participant in practice Wednesday after he participated on a limited basis last week.

“It feels pretty good,” Davis said before practice. “It still is a little bit brand new just getting back to doing everything and running routes and being on special teams. I think the biggest part is being back out there and getting into the same routine and helping. I’m feeling good and just trying to get my cardio back.”

The Falcons can wait up until Nov. 24 to decide whether to add Davis to the active roster from the physically unable to perform list.

OT Jonathan Scott (hamstring) and WRs Harry Douglas (foot) and Devin Hester (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. LG Justin Blalock (foot) and DE Jonathan Massaquoi (foot) were limited.

GAME PLAN: Carolina safety Thomas DeCoud’s knowledge of the Falcons’ offense and personnel means they’ll have to add some new wrinkles when they face their old teammate on Sunday.

DeCoud started 78 of 80 games for the Falcons from 2009-2013. The Falcons released DeCoud after last season and he’s now a starter for the Panthers.

“Thomas obviously is a very good player; he was with us for a long time, very productive, we won a lot of games with Thomas here,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “And he knows our schemes. He practiced against us every day for a long time. We’ll have to make some adjustments. We always do that in division to make sure we will break a few tendencies and do some things a little bit different.”

The Falcons selected DeCoud in the third round of the 2008 draft out of Cal. He became a full-time starter in his second season and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2012 but his play declined dramatically last season, most noticeably with poor tackling.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

–Falcons LB Joplo Bartu, who is set to make his eighth start this season, vs. Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams, who’s averaging 3.4 yards per carry: Bartu will have to control Williams when the Panthers run their read-option plays. He had 15 tackles in the loss to Baltimore. Williams managed just 31 yards on 13 carries as he received the start against the Eagles. He caught three passes for 13 yards.

–Falcons S Dwight Lowery, who made his first interception with the Falcons, vs. Panthers TE Greg Olsen, who’s coming of a strong game: With William Moore out, Lowery has been a stabilizing force for the Falcons’ young secondary. He came up with a big interception late against Tampa Bay. Olsen is quarterback Cam Newton’s favorite target. He caught six passes for 119 yards in the loss to the Eagles.

–Falcons RT Ryan Schraeder, second-year undrafted player from Valdosta State, vs. Panthers DE Charles Johnson, who has eight sacks in his last six games against the Falcons: Schraeder is set to make his third start this season. He’s been steady in the previous starts against Detroit and Tampa Bay. Johnson has wrecked the Falcons’ tackles over the past years. But with Greg Hardy out, he only has four sacks this season and no multi-sack games.