The Falcoholic
The Falcons were expected to get blown off the field in this one by a surging Patriots team. Somehow, that didn’t happen, but the resulting game was still incredibly painful to watch, and still a loss.
The Falcons couldn’t get going on offense early and struggled badly on defense in the first half before things clicked into place right before the half, which allowed them to rally all the way back. They limited the Patriots to just three points in the second half, got two impressive touchdown passes to Drake London, and still lost because Parker Romo missed an extra point, Michael Penix Jr. had another bad intentional grounding, and the weight of errors throughout the afternoon eventually crushed them. The result was a one point loss, a heartening effort after the loss to the Dolphins but a deeply embittering loss on a day the Falcons were on the cusp of winning multiple times.
Here’s a drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
The Falcons started with the ball, and Natrone Brooks took it to the 31. A quick screen to Bijan Robinson—a little too quick, given that it almost caught Bijan unawares—picked up two yards. Penix was then sacked while looking downfield by K’Lavon Chaisson, and then with some pressure coming his way from Chaisson again, Penix throw a one-hopper in the dirt in a panic. Punt.
TreVeyon Henderson took the opening carry for six yards, and then three yards as he was stood up by David Onyemata and company shortly before picking up a first. Henderson then slipped through the middle of the line for about five yards and a first down. Then Henderson broke two tackles on a short pass for a first down. Terrell Jennings was then brought down for no gain by Arnold Ebiketie. Drake Maye then stiff-armed a defender and scrambled for a first down. Maye then missed Pop Douglas high, with Dee Alford doing a really nice job in coverage. A screen to Henderson then went for close to 15 yards. Jennings then got a yard. Then Maye found Douglas with a rainbow for a touchdown. 7-0 Patriots.
Brooks made it back to the 30 again. Bijan took the handoff for five yards. Penix then whipped one to Drake London for a first down and 12 yards. A delayed handoff to Bijan lost five yards as Chaisson got him swiftly. A pass to Bijan went for six yards. On third down, Penix tried Bijan again under pressure, but Bijan lost it in the sun. Punt, but Bradley Pinion was able to bounce it out of bounds at the six yard line.
Two quick passes to Henderson went for a combined four yards, with Ronnie Harrison Jr. coming up with a nice second down tackle. Under pressure, Maye missed downfield. Punt, and Jamal Agnew took it almost to midfield.
Kyle Pitts had a tremendous catch in traffic for a first down to get things going. Another quick slant over the...
