Preseason can tell us many lies, both about players and teams. The Falcons almost certainly aren’t as terrible as they looked out there on Friday night, and the Broncos are probably not A) as dominant and B) as penalty-ridden as they seemed. But even in those lies there are sobering glimpses of truth, and the fact that the Falcons looked completely overmatched in this one is a cause for concern.
They got smoked early on defense, even if the backups at least were game enough to limit the damage. The starting
offense was missing Bijan Robinson and (after a few snaps) Jake Matthews, but still looked completely overmatched as pressure got to Tua Tagovailoa and he struggled to deliver even when it wasn’t right in his face. The backups were equally dismal, with Cooper Rush mixing a couple of nice balls in with a pick six and another interception. While special teams looked excellent, it was hard to shake the sense that Denver was simply a much better, better-prepared football team overall.
We may learn in the weeks to come that it’s wildly unfair to characterize things that way, but right now Falcons look like a team that Kevin Stefanski accurately diagnosed as having “a lot of work to do.” For every Malcolm DeWalt standout play on defense or special teams or solid Tyler Goodson run or zippy Jack Strand pass, there was a nonsensical coverage lapse, invisible pass rush rep, or ugly throw from Rush to consider. I think the best thing you can say about tonight’s game is that the Falcons can’t walk away from it with any illusions or ambiguity about what they need to tinker with in order to improve, which I suppose is a sort of victory of its own. Kevin Stefanski alluded to that immediately after the game in his interview, saying these were evaluation reps for the Falcons and the team had plenty to consider.
Here’s the drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons kicked off, courtesy of Nick Folk, with the Broncos starting at their own 31. Jarrett Stidham had time to float one to Pat Bryant for 13 yards. RJ Harvey then picked up four yards before Brandon Dorlus got him. Stidham then got Courtland Sutton and picked up six. Adam Prentice then barreled forward for a first down. Stidham then hit Sutton for 40 yards and got Denver to the one yard line. Prentice then plunged in for a touchdown, and preseason or no, it looked way too easy for Denver’s offense. 7-0 Broncos.
Olamide Zaccheaus took the kickoff back to the 31 yard line. A handoff to Brian Robinson went for one yard. Tua Tagovailoa fumbled the snap and simply fell on it for a loss. Tua then dumped it off to Kyle Pitts for seven yards and we had a punt. It was a 57 yard boomer of a punt and DeMarcco Hellams got the tackle after just a six yard return.
The Falcons made the stop after three yards on first down. Harvey then bulled his way for six yards, with Christian Harris making the tackle. Rookie Kendal Daniels notably did have the green dot. Harvey then got a couple of yards for a first down. Harvey was then tackled for a minimal gain by Christian Harris and Kendal Daniels. Stidham then threw one up for Sutton, who reeled it in one-handed working against CJ Henderson. Jonah Coleman then picked up a couple of yards. Coleman then was stopped after another yard or two by Harold Perkins Jr. Stidham then faced pressure for the first time all night and threw it too low to Evan Engram. Punt.
Brian Robinson picked up five yards, and Jake Matthews was off the field. Ethan Onianwa was at right tackle with Mike Jerrell at left tackle on the next play, when Brian Robinson picked up the blitz to give Tua time to find Pitts for a first down. There was a defensive holding call that was declined. Pressure came in on the next play and Tua threw it away. Then a false start on Antwane Wells Jr. backed the Falcons up. Tagovailoa then threw one to a covered Pitts, who reeled it in. Then pressure came in and Tua once again dirted it. Punt, and a 47 yarder from Bailey with a 10 yard penalty added on to the end.
Kendal Daniels made a nice play on first down as Stidham threw it away under pressure. Stidham then found Engram in between four Falcons with pressure closing in. Coleman then took it nine yards, but it came back on a holding call. Stidham then threw it incomplete with nice coverage from Darnay Holmes. Daniels then took down Coleman after a few yards on a pass, but a penalty on Holmes gave the Broncos first down. Coleman then put a crazy spin move on the Falcons and picked up a first. Then Chris Williams jumped for a defensive offsides, and Coleman plunged for a first down. Stidham found Troy Franklin for a big first down.
2nd Quarter
Pressure got into Stidham’s face and he threw one downfield to no one in particular. Stidham then hesitated after his quick threw was taken away and scrambled, but didn’t make it very far. A quick pass from Stidham to Franklin was stopped well short of a first down by Hellams. Field goal was good, though. 10-0 Broncos
Nice return by Vinny Anthony to set the Falcons up near the 40. Cooper Rush was in and threw a duck on first down. He was immediately picked on second down by Riley Moss on a floater over the middle.
Tyler Badet took it a couple of yards. Jaleel McLaughlin spun away from two tacklers and picked up 12 yards. The jet sweep then went for 28 yards and got to the five yard line, with Clark Phillips making the tackle. Two yards followed before Sydney Brown got the tackle. With pressure getting close to Stidham, he found McLaughlin over the middle and he was able to rumble into the end zone. 17-0 Broncos.
Another nice, 30 yard return from Anthony. Nate Carter then took it for three yards, following that up with two yards as the defense quickly converged. Rush then threw it to nobody as pressure started closing in. Jake Bailey had another nice punt.
I’ll be fully honest and say I missed first down running to the fridge to get a beer, but it only got a yard. Stidham scrambled but a hold brought it back. Stidham under pressure then missed McLaughlin on a dump-off. The screen then went nowhere with Darnay Holmes leading the way. Punt, with Zachariah Branch making a short return.
Rush handed it off to Branch, who picked up about five yards going to the sideline. Tyler Goodson didn’t get much on second down, and then a false start on Jerrell backed the Falcons up. Rush then hit Dyland Drummond for 13 yards and a first down. Goodson then picked up a couple of yards. Rush then scrambled away from pressure and hit Chris Blair for 16 yards. A quick pass to Branch picked up a yard or two. Goodson then had a well-blocked run for seven yards. Goodson then caught one for no gain. Rush then found Anthony for six yards. A quick pass to Branch picked up a first down. Rush then threw it away as he rolled away from pressure. On the next play, he threw an ill-advised pass with a defender looming, it was tipped, and returned 98 yards for a touchdown. 24-0 Broncos
A solid return from Anthony was called back a bit owing to a penalty. Then Cooper Rush threw one away on first down and had his pass knocked down on second down. A third down throw to Dylan Drummond was incomplete. Punt.
Stidham threw it out of bounds on first down. Then a false start on the Broncos. Stidham got away from a near-sack from James Pearce Jr. and Zach Harrison and picked up nearly ten yards running away. A long ball to Hakeem Butler working against Clark Phillips fell incomplete, with lots of contact but Phillips wisely not looking back for the ball. No flag, and punt.
Rush threw it away under pressure. Rush then threw it to the sideline and Chris Blair made a nice, leaping grab where he held on despite contact. Rush then missed on a deep ball downfield and was nearly picked again. A chaotic screen on second down fell incomplete with nobody looking for the ball. Rush then missed Branch to the sideline.
Punt, and halftime.
3rd Quarter
A solid return and then Nate Carter picked up two yards. Carter then was wrapped up in the backfield for a small loss. Then Jack Strand threw a quick checkdown to Carter, who inexplicably spun and picked up maybe a yard or two. Punt.
A couple of yards on first down for the Broncos. Tyler Badie then picked up a couple more yards. A quick pass from Sam Ehlinger picked up a first. He followed it up with another pass for a first. On the next play, he got six or seven with a tight pass before Darren Hall got the stop. I briefly tuned out and considered why I’m doing this on a Friday night and then the Broncos lined up for a field goal that turned out to be a fake and went nowhere. Atlanta ball.
Jack Strand hit Josh Simon for a first down where Simon simply refused to go down, bringing the entire Broncos defense to bear on him. A handoff to Carter then went for two yards before Strand fired one over the middle that was very close to being picked off, intended for Vinny Anthony. Strand then tried one deep downfield to Anthony and missed by a bit. Punt.
Six yards on first down, two on a second down run for Denver. A first down plunge followed, but there was a fumble on a ball JD Bertrand knocked out and Jammie Robinson jumped on it. Atlanta ball.
Two yards for Nate Carter on first down, and then Strand found Simon over the middle on a first down. Carter once again got nowhere on first down. Tyler Goodson then bulled his way all the way to the one yard line, setting it up for Jack Strand to sneak his way in for a touchdown. 24-7 Broncos.
The Broncos had a nice return wiped out by a penalty. An Ehlinger deep shot under pressure was knocked out by Cobee Bryant, who did a nice job of extending his arms without ever looking back at the ball. Ehlinger then rolled for a first down…but saw it called back owing to holding. On 2nd and 16, the Broncos got 14 yards on the ground, which is not great. A quick pass to the running back got the Broncos another first down, if barely, as Josh Woods came in on the tackle. Another quick pass went nowhere as Darren Hall blew it up. Ehlinger then dumped it off under pressure, with Josh Woods getting the tackle to prevent any sort of real gain.
4th Quarter
Ehlinger once again delivered a nice ball on 3rd and 11 for a first down. Ehlinger then dealt another nice pass under pressure for a first down. A quick run went for four yards. Then Ehlinger tried a deep ball that fell a little short, and Malcolm DeWalt IV read it perfectly and picked it off. It was overturned on review, but I’m counting it. A holding penalty on 3rd and 5 on Cobee Bryant kept the drive alive. A.J. Woods then came in and blew up the run on the next play. A short pass was blown up by Josh Woods after that. Ehlinger’s third down pass was too high. The 55 yard field goal was no good.
Two yard run on first down, and then a three yard catch for Nick Muse on second down. Strand then couldn’t find an open man and was dragged down after a few seconds on third down. Punt, and DeWalt flew down the field to make a tackle deep in Denver territory.
The first down run went nowhere, but a scramble picked up close to eight yards. The Broncos then bullied their way to a first down. Perhaps three yards on first down on the run to follow, and then a deep ball saw an incompletion…with another call against Cobee Bryant. Ehlinger then scrambled again, and yet another call against Bryant gave Denver more yards. A short pass was then stopped cold by Mike Ford Jr., and then Keshawn Banks nearly sacked Ehlinger as he threw one into the dirt. Denver got the field goal, though. 27-7 Broncos.
Strand’s first pass was a little behind Trey Sermon, but he found Nick Muse over the middle for a first down on his next one. Sermon then got a yard or two on first down, and then Strand swung a quick pass to Cash Jones for about five yards, followed by a Cash Jones carry for a couple more. Strand then took the sneak for another first down. A quick pass from Strand to Kristian Wilkerson picked up about seven yards.
A penalty saw the Falcons repeating second down further back, and then Strand’s pass was a little low for Cash Jones. Strand then took a sideline shot to Wilkerson that was fairly on-target, but that was broken up by Denver’s defense. On 4th and 10, Strand tried Wilkerson again, but as he threw Wilkerson was knocked down and it fell incomplete. No flag.
Denver kneeled it out and, in the immortal words of Jean-Claude Van Damme, we can all go home.
