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.
1st Quarter
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 middle to London went for 16. A quick carry for Tyler Allgeier went for two yards. Robinson then caught a pass and picked up the first down, just a few yards short of the end zone. Then Penix threw it up for London, who made a leaping grab working against Marcus Jones for a touchdown. 7-7 tie.
LaCale London stopped a scrambling Drake Maye for a sack after Maye tried to get away up the middle.
2nd Quarter
Henderson was hit at the line of scrimmage for maybe a yard. Maye then hit Hunter Henry for a first down. Jennings then picked up two yards on the ground. Maye was a little high to Kayshon Boutte on second down, though. Maye managed to get one around Jalon Walker to Henry again for a first down. Then Henderson took it eight yards on first down. Jennings then bullied his way forward for three yards and a first. Maye was then sacked again, this time by Brandon Dorlus. Then Maye found Austin Hooper (!) for a first down. Jennings then picked up a first down, and then plunged in for a touchdown. 14-7 Patriots.
Agnew was stopped around the 30. Penix then looked like he was ready to hand the ball off, there was no back there, and he threw it away under pressure. Penix tried London, but Christian Gonzalez broke it up. On third down, Penix hits Pitts under huge pressure, but it was well short of a first down. Punt, and the Patriots got it at the 27.
Henderson got about a yard on first down. Maye then scrambled and Onyemata brought him down for a yard, and the Patriots called a timeout right before the third down play went off. On 3rd and 8, Maye managed a 58 yard pass to Douglas to put the Patriots in the red zone. Maye then scrambled away from pressure and had to throw it away, but Leonard Floyd was injured on the play. Diggs then caught a short pass and managed to elude two tacklers en route to the end zone. 21-7, Patriots.
A so-so return gave the Falcons the ball back. Bijan then bounced off his own guy for five yards. Robinson then took it 15 yards, almost to midfield. Then Penix fired in a low ball to a sliding Darnell Mooney for an excellent catch and a big pickup. A short pass to London went for about four yards, and the tackle attempt flipped him over. A screen to Robinson went for maybe a yard, but an offensive pass interference call backed the Falcons up. Kyle Pits caught the second down pass for a five yard gain, and was the target again on third down as he picked up a couple extra yards to leave the Falcons two yards short of a first down. On fourth down, Penix tried to find London, but he couldn’t hold on to it.
Henderson plunged up the middle to five yards. Maye then slid down in bounds for a two yard gain. Maye got Mack Hollins for a first down. Another middle of the field shot to Douglas picked up a first down. On the next play, Jalon Walker got the strip sack and James Pearce Jr. returned it all the way to the New England six yard line.
Penix scrambled with nothing open and picked up about four yards. On the next play, Penix got London working against a linebacker and threw it up again, with London reeling in his second touchdown of the day. 21-14 Patriots.
3rd Quarter
The Patriots had it around the 30, and then Maye fumbled and was able to fall on it. Maye was able to find Douglas on the sideline for nine yards working against Mike Hughes. Upon review, it was ruled a first down. Henderson picked up six yards before A.J. Terrell got him. Then Henderson got a first down. A short pass to Jennings went for eight yards. Then the Patriots got a first. An under pressure checkdown to Henderson fell incomplete. A first down pass to Henry followed. Under pressure from Pearce, Maye got Hollins for a short gain. Jennings then picked up about four yards. Maye then scrambled for a first down. A quick three yard pickup for Henderson followed. Then Jalon Walker blew in and put a ton of pressure on Maye and Ruke Orhorhoro got him. On third down, a quick pass to Henderson picked up a yard or two before Kaden Elliss got him. The Patriots hit the field goal try to make it 24-14 Patriots.
Agnew made it to about the 30, but a special teams penalty on Josh Woods backed them up ten yards. Bijan picked up a few yards on first down. Penix missed the second down throw under pressure. Under pressure, he tried Pitts downfield and couldn’t get him. Punt, and Marcus Jones got almost to midfield.
Jennings was tackled swiftly for a gain of one yard. Jessie Bates picked off the next pass, his first interception of the year, after Maye’s throw sailed on him.
A screen pass to Bijan went for a yard. On the next play, a false start set the Falcons back five yards. Penix then pulled off his best scramble of the year for a first down, followed by a Bijan pitch for a yard. A quick pass to Bijan under pressure got about eight yards. Another quick hitter to Robinson got the team’s first third down conversion of the game. Allgeier then got the next carry and picked up four yards.
4th Quarter
Robinson then only got a yard going to the sideline. Penix tried London on the sideline but didn’t quite get it. Parker Romo then hit the field goal to make it 24-17 Patriots.
The return got back to the 35, but a penalty backed them up ten yards. A quick pass to Stefon Diggs went for seven yards. Henderson then burst through the line for a first down. Pressure got home quickly from Ronnie Harrison and forced Maye to scramble a little bit, but he ran into his own lineman and was dropped for a loss of one yard. A Maye pass over the middle fell incomplete, with JD Bertrand in coverage. On third down, Diggs picked up 21 yards. Arnold Ebiketie then got the tackle for a major loss of about eight yards. Then Ebiketie flushed out Maye, who scrambled for about six yards. Maye then tried it on third down to Douglas, but missed by a mile. Punt.
Penix nearly threw an interception on first down, as it bounced off a defender’s hands when London fell. Penix then looked for Sills under considerable pressure and just missed. An illegal hands to the fact penalty gave the Falcons five yards, however. On the next play, Atlanta just couldn’t get the play off, and Raheem Morris called a timeout to avoid a five yard loss. Bijan then took it about three yards, and then made a wonderful one-handed grab and powered through contact for a first down. Penix then threw one way downfield, with London working against Gonzalez and making a superb catch over him, and Gonzalez was hurt on the play. Bijan then picked up three yards on first down. A quick pass to Bijan went for another three or four yards. The next pass went to Pitts, but it was ruled incomplete. Penix then found London again on fourth down to convert. Bijan then rolled out for four yards. Penix then tried one to London in the end zone that could have been an interception, but luckily it fell incomplete; an illegal man downfield penalty on Kyle Hinton was declined. Penix then tried Pitts but it was a little high and the coverage was sticky. On fourth down, Penix got London again, with an unreal one-handed grab for a touchdown. Parker Romo then missed the extra point. 24-23 Patriots.
Efton Chism’s return was swiftly killed. Henderson then picked up three yards. Maye then missed the second down throw to Kyle Williams. On third down, Jalon Walker tipped the throw to force the incompletion. Punt, and Agnew returned it about 15 yards.
Bijan took it about eight yards on first down, and followed that up with five yards for a first down. A false start on Jake Matthews backed the Falcons up five yards. Penix then rolled out and hit London for 26 yards. Penix then tried David Sills, but receiver and ball were nowhere near one another. The Falcons felt, at 4th and 20, that they had to punt and did. KhaDarel Hodge got the tackle inside the New England 20.
Jennings took it three yards on first down, and then got two yards on second down.
