The Falcoholic
The Atlanta Falcons should’ve won that game and made a gorgeous autumn day in New England that much more enjoyable. I know that, you know that, the Patriots know that. They have to be letting out of a sigh of relief in Massachusetts today, given how close the margin was, while the Falcons pick up the pieces of yet another loss.
Compared to their ass-kickings at the hands of both the 49ers and Dolphins, this was very recognizably decent football. The Falcons stunk in the first half on offense outside of a single drive and a couple of plays from the Patriots 6 yard line, but the defense started clamping down late in the first half and never let up. The Patriots scored 21 in the first half and just three points in the second half; the Falcons controlled that portion of the afternoon almost entirely. Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdown passes to Drake London, the Falcons picked up six sacks and forced two turnovers, and the team was in a position to tie it up, get the stop, and cap off a game-winning field goal drive late in this one. Instead, Parker Romo missed the extra point, the Falcons got a shot but Michael Penix Jr. got surprised by a snap and picked up yet another intentional grounding penalty, and the Falcons punted on 4th and 20 and couldn’t get the desperation stop out of timeouts. Game.
What’s incredibly aggravating about this one is that the Falcons put together a much better effort than their previous two games despite the quality of opponent, and it wasn’t enough to add up to a win because of the same kinds of errors that have repeatedly doomed them. Romo has not been good enough to keep the kicker spot, something that was obvious weeks ago but has not been addressed, whether because of a lack of options (in Atlanta’s opinion) or a belief that Romo will steady himself. Penix and the offense have not been able to stop making the kinds of mistakes experience should iron out, whether that’s an intentional grounding, brutally bad blocks and penalties, or an actual or near delay of game. The Falcons defense is the better piece of this team, but they are failing to deliver the pressure they’re very capable of generating on critical third downs when they really need it, and they keep winding up with bad coverage mismatches when they need them least. This was a pretty good football game against a very tough opponent in spite of all that, which makes a loss we all thought was coming much harder to digest.
The progress matters in a big picture sense, though. Penix getting more comfortable and confident for long stretches matters. Drake London reeling in three touchdowns and dominating on a day the Falcons were once again pretty one-dimensional matters, especially when the team’s receiving options outside of him, Bijan Robinson, and Kyle Pitts are doing nothing of note. The pass rush...
