The depleted Ravens are still a dangerous team, something we received an all-too-potent reminder of on Sunday Night Football. The Falcons had plenty of advantages—they were at home, red hot, and had their starting quarterback, to name a few—but couldn’t summon the kind of clean, hyper-effective game they needed to win comfortably. In the end, they couldn’t even summon up the kind of effort they needed to win, period.
Atlanta struggled with penalties, with three on special teams leaving them with poor
field position and penalties on offense and defense complicating drives. They struggled with sometimes iffy play calling, like overly cute screens and a would-be touchdown pass to Jake Matthews, or blitzes late in the game that left targets open for Tyler Huntley, who was getting passes out at lightning speed. Combined with missed tackles, poor angles, and the Ravens executing their gameplan extremely well all game, the Falcons simply didn’t have enough in the tank to win this one, with the game coming down to Tua Tagovailoa’s arm after Michael Penix Jr. was injured late and ending on a Tua interception. After two straight beatdowns of the Packers and Saints, it was a bracing effort that tells us that well-coached, quality football teams can exploit Atlanta’s extant weaknesses and uncover new ones. There’s a lot to work on this week, and there isn’t a soul in Flowery Branch who is unaware of that. Now it’s time to see how the Falcons respond and recover from this latest gut punch.
Here’s a drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons chose to defer, and the Ravens went out from the 30. An end-around to Zay Flowers picked up 12 yards after he got nice blocking and the Falcons bit on the other side. Derrick Henry then picked up seven yards up the middle. A quick throw to Justice Hill was bobbled and ultimately dropped. Hill then took a carry up the middle and picked up another big first down. Henry then stumbled through a tackle attempt and picked up another seven yards. Tyler Huntley then got away from pressure and got his receiver for a first down and 11 yards. Mike Hughes then got low on Henry to stop him just shy of a touchdown. Henry then took it out of the wildcat but was decisively stopped by the Falcons run defense for a loss, and an illegal formation penalty would’ve backed the Ravens up had it been accepted. Huntley then tried to hit Mark Andrews and it went through his hands after a bad snap. Tyler Loop was good on the short field goal, though, to make it 3-0 Ravens.
Olamide Zaccheaus had a solid return backed up by a holding call on Jammie Robinson, so the Falcons started from about their own 15 yard line. Michael Penix Jr. then tried to fire on downfield to Drake London but it was well behind and knocked down by the defender. Bijan Robinson then picked up four yards up the middle. Penix then felt pressure and threw one backpedaling and hit a Ravens defender in the helmet. Punt.
Henry then ran easily for a first down. On the next play, Jared Ivey did a great job fighting through a blocker wrapped around his ankle to sack Tyler Huntley. Then Sydney Brown forced Mark Andrews to fumble on a catch, Jessie Bates scooped it up, and Bates returned it all the way for a touchdown. 7-3 Falcons.
Henry took his first handoff for nearly 10 yards. A direct snap to almost Henry got a first down before LaCale London tackled him. Huntley then snuck it for a yard. Huntley tried to throw it to Henry under duress, but Kendal Daniels got his hand up and knocked it away. A toss to Justice Hill looked like it was on its way to a first down, but he slipped for five yards. On third and five, Brandon Dorlus and company arrived and dropped Henry for a small loss. Punt.
Bijan Robinson had a jaw-dropping run where he looked dead in the backfield and somehow not only escaped but picked up about 15 yards and a first down. Unreal stuff. A three yard carry for Robinson followed, and then Penix under pressure threw it in the dirt near London. Penix then got away from pressure and scrambled for about five yards after slight hesitation, but didn’t quite get the first. Punt, and a good one from Jake Bailey.
Huntley hit Flowers over the middle for six yards. Henry rolled forward for two yards. A quick pass to Devontez Walker just picked up a first down. Henry then took it nine yards.
2nd Quarter
Henry then got a first down. A neutral zone infraction from Za’Darius Smith gave the Ravens five more yards. Huntley tried to scramble away from Daniels, but was stopped after a minimal gain. Divine Deablo then got Henry after a couple of yards. Huntley tried to get Flowers, but he dropped it and the ball fell incomplete. After a delay of game in service of trying and failing to get the Falcons to jump offsides, they punted it and Zaccheaus returned it for about eight yards. Another holding call brought them back near their own end zone.
Brian Robinson Jr. took it for a couple of yards, following that up right another couple of yards. With pressure showing up immediately, Penix slung it into the ground near London. Bailey punted out of his own end zone to about the Ravens 40, and Baltimore picked up six yards on the return.
A quick pass from Huntley to a tight end picked up close to 15 yards after a long rumble. Henry then got hit early but still picked up close to four yards. A snap to Flowers, who was looking to throw, was brought down by Zach Harrison with an assist from Cameron Thomas. A short screen pass fell well short of a first down after Gervon Dexter caught up with the receiver from behind. Loop hit from 51 yards to make it 7-6 Falcons.
Zaccheaus got crushed at the 20 on the kick return to set up poor field position again. Penix was waiting for something to open up downfield and took the sack. A screen to Kyle Pitts went for about 15 yards. Penix then uncorked one down the sideline to London, who got 17 yards. Bijan then went inside left and picked up five yards. Brian Robinson Jr. then went nowhere on second down as the defense swarmed him. Jahan Dotson then flew downfield and reeled in a deep ball from Penix that got the Falcons inside the red zone. Bijan then lost a couple of yards on first down. Penix then hit Bijan on a short route over the middle that went for a few yards. Then Penix fired one in to Pitts for a touchdown. 14-6 Falcons.
A return to the 37 yard line was brought back by a hold. Huntley then connected on a low ball for a first down. Huntley then connected on a short pass that went for about five yards. A quick pass (again) to Flowers was about a yard shy of the first down. Huntley then snuck it and somehow stayed on his feet for 12 yards. On the next play, Huntley had to get rid of it under pressure, and a holding call backed up Baltimore. On the next play, Huntley got rid of it milliseconds before Cameron Thomas destroyed him. He then connected for nine yards, and got away from pressure to get Bateman for a first down. Huntley got away from a sack and then threw it away. Huntley then was a little too high on a downfield shot and it fell incomplete, with Hughes close by. A false start backed the Ravens up five yards. The Ravens then burned a handful of seconds on a kneel and left one second for Tyler Loop’s third attempt of the game, and he hit from 51 yards again. 14-9 Falcons at the end of the first half.
3rd Quarter
After a touchback took the Falcons to the 35 yard line, Bijan’s opening carry picked up five yards. A Jake Matthews false start then erased that gain. Penix dodged multiple defenders on the next play for a gain of perhaps a yard. Then Penix connected with Pitts for 12 yards and a first down. Bijan then got around a tackle attempt for nine yards. He then plunged ahead for a couple of yards and a first down. Bijan then took a carry 37 yards on a truly crazy run to get the Falcons close. He lost a yard or so on the next carry as the Ravens defense swarmed. The Falcons then tried to do something silly, with Penix throwing to Jake Matthews, but Matthews couldn’t come up with it. Then Penix overthrew Dotson a bit in the end zone, which brought Nick Folk on for the short field goal try. 17-9 Falcons.
The Ravens returned it to the 26 yard line. Derrick Henry took one to the sideline for three yards. Huntley then fired one to Flowers, who was tackled by Cameron Thomas just shy of a first down. Justice Hill then slipped through the line and ran it for about 50 yards, getting the Ravens within striking distance. Henry was then tackled for no gain. A screen pass to Henry got good blocking and Henry did the rest for a touchdown. The Ravens then tried for a two point conversion, but Andrews couldn’t hold on to it. 17-15 Falcons.
Brian Robinson Jr. took the kick return past the 35 yard line. Bijan then ran for no gain, with Kyle Hamilton down on the play. Penix then hit Bijan for a 10 yard pickup and a first down. A quick sideline ball to Bijan picked up three yards, and then Brian Robinson Jr. picked up four more yards on the ground. BRJ then took it for maybe a yard, setting up a 4th and 2. Penix had almost immediate pressure and threw it low for Charlie Woerner, who grabbed it short of a first down. Turnover on downs.
Henry picked up three yards on first down. Huntley got away from pressure again and picked up three yards on a scramble after evading multiple defenders. On third down, Samson Ebukam had a relentless rush, got ahold of Huntley, and took him down for a sack. Punt, and Branch returned it about ten yards. An unnecessary roughness call on the Falcons brought them back considerably.
Bijan picked up four yards on first down. Brian Robinson got another four yards on the next carry. Penix then found London for a short pass, and London vaulted over a defender to about 10 yards.
4th Quarter
Pitts took the short swing pass for about five yards. An offensive lineman got pushed right into Bijan’s lap on the next carry for a loss. Penix then found London again on the sideline for another first down. On a would-be screen to Branch, he already had a defender on him and lost 13 yards. Penix then scrambled for a handful of yards. Penix then found London again for a first down. Bijan took it three yards, and then Penix got Pitts for six more yards. Then Penix got London againnnnn for another first down. Bijan got a yard on the next play. Penix then tried to get Pitts over the middle but didn’t get him after contact between Pitts and a defender that was initially flagged and then picked up. Penix was then hit as he threw trying to go to Dotson in the end zone. Nick Folk hit the 34 yard field goal try to make it 20-15 Falcons.
After a return past the 30, the Ravens gave Henry the opening handoff for four yards or so. Henry got ahead for a couple of yards before Jared Ivey got him. On third down, Huntley looked for Andrews and Xavier Watts knocked it loose with perfect timing. Punt, and a fair catch just inside the 20.
Penix hung on a bit until the pressure got too close and threw an off balance ball that was out too far for Brian Robinson Jr. to grab. Penix then threw it to Bijan but missed low. Penix then found Branch on what seemed to be an ill-advised throw well short of the sticks, but Branch put his man on skates and ran for a first down and more. Bijan got tackled for a loss of a yard by Calais Campbell. Penix hit London again for another first down, and then got Charlie Woerner on what seemed to be another dangerous ball that Woerner reeled in diving. A delayed handoff to Bijan picked up three yards, and Brian followed that up with a yard. Penix under pressure tried to throw it to Bijan but it was behind him and Bijan couldn’t scoop it out of the dirt. Nick Folk hit it from 48 yards out to make it 23-15 Falcons.
The Falcons got the stop on the return. Huntley had a solid scramble, but it came back owing to a hold. Huntley had forever in the pocket owing to a series of misses by Falcons pass rushers, and then pass interference on Watts added five yards after Zay Flowers caught the ball. Huntley then threw one to a diving Bateman for a first down. A quick pass over the middle went for about five yards. Huntley then got Bateman again for a first down. A quick pass to Andrews got three yards before Harold Perkins Jr. drove him backwards and got the tackle. Huntley then got Bateman again for a first down and more to put the Ravens in a first and goal situation, with Mike Hughes hurt on the play. Huntley then threw a touchdown pass to Devontez Walker. The Ravens quite sensibly decided to go for two points, and Henry got to the edge and scored, with Mike Hughes trying to get the tackle one-on-one and slipping. 23-23 tie with 40 seconds left.
The Falcons started from around their own 20. Penix found Dotson downfield for 20ish yards on a nice ball. On the next play, Penix hung on looking for a man downfield and a defender got away from Pitts and Bijan, with the ball squirting out before Ryan Neuzil fell on it. Penix was hurt on the play and Tua Tagovailoa entered the game. Tua then connected with Bijan for a solid gain to set up third and 6. Penix re-entered the game, and with a defender on his ankle simply threw the ball away. Punt, and the clock ran out.
Overtime
The Ravens elected to receive, and their kick return took them past the 30. Henry picked up nine yards to kick things off for Baltimore on the drive. On second down, Henry was stopped for a small loss by Dexter, who had been rolling. A quick shot to Andrews picked up about nine yards and a first down. Henry picked up four yards before he got stopped by Jessie Bates. On the next play, a quick pass to Justice Hill was stopped cold by Kendal Daniels after no gain. A quick pass to Flowers got a first down after Divine Deablo couldn’t bring him down short of the sticks. Huntley then scrambled for three yards before Daniels got him. Henry then powered through the pile to pick up 11 yards. A neutral zone infraction on LaCale London gave the Ravens another five yards. Then Henry got a yard. Then Huntley hit Bateman for a first down. Henry rolled for another seven yards. Andrews caught another first down at the four yard line. Henry took it to the one yard line, and then Huntley punched it in on the next play. 30-23 Ravens.
After a solid return, Tua was back in the game for an injured Penix and immediately connected with London on a big gainer over the middle of the field. Tua then threw an interception on the next pass to end the game.
