The Atlanta Falcons are very good at building us up and tearing us down, and this was the demolition phase. After an impressive game where they ran all over the Minnesota defense and swarmed the Vikings offense en route to a 22-6 victory on Sunday Night Football, the Falcons had to face a struggling Carolina team on the road with an opportunity in front of them to move to 2-1. They…did not take advantage.
Instead, everything looked difficult for the Falcons. Michael Penix Jr. missed easy throws, was
under pressure often, and threw a can’t-do-it pick six. Zac Robinson couldn’t seem to scheme up answers and came out throwing on a day where Bijan Robinson was regularly excellent. The defense was actually pretty good on balance, but couldn’t get big stops when it counted. Special teams saw missed field goals, muffed returns, and an uncharacteristic short Bradley Pinion punt. Nobody outside of Bijan was all that good on Sunday, and it led to an embarrassing, lopsided loss to a team that came into today 0-2. It was an embarrassing, deflating loss coming after such a big win over the Vikings, and it created doubt about everything we thought we knew about Atlanta. They have no one to blame but themselves, and now they’re 1-2 and 0-2 in the NFC South.
It was the kind of disaster that casts an enormous amount of doubt on what we had seen to this point. Did Carolina just figure out both the smoke and the mirrors the Falcons were surviving on? Was the lack of a deep passing game in the first two weeks foreshadowing a total lack of a passing game going forward? Is this team too sloppy and poorly coached to make any real noise in the NFC? We’ll get those answers, but after this week, you could be forgiven for thinking we won’t like those answers.
On the full drive-by-drive recap.
1st Quarter
The Panthers deferred, and the Falcons got to the 25 on a return from Ray-Ray McCloud from the 13. Michael Penix Jr. tried Kyle Pitts on first down, but it was behind and above him and Pitts couldn’t reel it in. Then Penix found Drake London, who juked, spun, and bullied his way to a first down. Bijan Robinson slipped a little on his carry and picked up three yards. Penix then fired one over the middle to Darnell Mooney, but Mooney couldn’t reel it in. On third down, Penix reeled in a bit of a wobbly snap and found Mooney downfield for about 15 yards and a first down. Then Penix hit London on the sideline with a nice first down ball. Robinson’s next carry was harried from the beginning, and Bijan only got a couple yards. With some pressure coming, Penix elected to throw it away on second down, but it appeared he would have had London if he had hit him. He tried London again, but tight coverage and a high ball kept it from being completed. Parker Romo then missed the 49 yard field goal try.
Bryce Young hit someone I haven’t heard of, sorry to say, for eight yards. On second down, Young was intensely pressured by Leonard Floyd, but got the throw off and completed it for a first down. He then hit Hunter Renfrow for just a yard. Chuba Hubbard fired through the middle on a Falcons blitz and picked up seven yards. Dee Alford was all over Tet McMillan on third down and got his hand on the ball, but the Panthers went for it on 4th and 3 and McMillan got completely loose and caught one for about 25 yards. Young then found Tommy Tremble working against Xavier Watts for another first down. Young then tried McMillan in the end zone, but it was too high. On second down, Young got loose and Kaden Elliss couldn’t quite get to him in time, and Young ran into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. Panthers 7, Falcons 0.
Falcons returned it to the 25 again. Bijan took it up the middle for six yards, and followed that up with another three yards to get the Falcons close. They then took a timeout, and then somehow the Falcons let the clock run all the way down and picked up a delay of game penalty. On third down, a low snap saw Penix get hit, and he threw a high ball for Kyle Pitts and fell incomplete. On the punt, Bradley Pinion got Travis Etienne to muff the punt (magic!), and DeMarcco Hellams fell on it to get the ball back.
Robinson picked up two yards on first down. On second down, Penix flipped it to Charlie Woerner for a big loss. Then Penix’s arm was hit as he threw and it was incomplete again. Then Romo missed again from 55 yards.
Hubbard picked up seven yards. Then Young got away from pressure again and ran for a first down, with Ruke Orhorhoro almost getting him. Hubbard then got some nice blocks and picked up nine yards. On the next play, he lost a yard, and a holding call on the Panthers backed Carolina up further. James Pearce Jr. got David Moore after about five yards. The Falcons then got massive pressure and Mike Hughes was all over McMillan to force the incompletion. McCloud then had a fair catch at the 10 yard line.
Tyler Allgeier got three yards on first down.
2nd Quarter
A quick swing pass to Bijan Robinson picked up a first down. Penix went right back to Bijan, who took a big hit after four yards. Robinson then picked up three yards on the next play. Another swing pass to Robinson went for 25 yards. A quick pass with pressure in his face went for zero yards to Tyler Allgeier. A quick pass to Darnell Mooney with a one-on-one matchup only got a yard after the Panthers defender got the leg tackle. On third down, Penix tried Mooney on the sideline and it just went off his fingertips. Punt, and the Panthers got it inside the 20.
A quick pass to McMillan went for 20 yards. Rico Dowdle appeared to be dead in the backfield for a loss, but he didn’t fall over and managed to pick up five yards. Then a quick pass to Dowdle got a first down, with the tackle by Divine Deablo. Dowdle then slipped for a small loss. Hubbard then got seven yards, and Young threw one up and McMillan brought it in for a first down. Young then tried Renfrow on the run and it fell incomplete. Dowdle then turned on the Jets to pick up eight yards. A false start backed the Panthers up five yards. Young then missed under pressure to Renfrow. Unfortunately, the Panthers hit on the 57 yard field goal try to make it 10-0 Carolina.
The kickoff went off Nate Carter’s hands for a touchback, but because Carter touched it, the Falcons got it at the 20. Bijan then burst through the line and was just brought down by a tackle for nine yards instead of a sure touchdown. Robinson then picked up close to 10 yards again. Bijan then picked up two after fighting through contact. Penix then saw some pressure and scrambled for about five yards. The Falcons then called a second timeout. On the next play, it was unclear whether Penix simply threw it to the wrong spot or McCloud ran the wrong route, but the ball was nowhere near him. Punt, again, and this time it was a poor punt by Pinion to give Carolina a short field.
Hubbard picked up two yards, and followed that up with a couple more. Young then scrambled up the middle for a first down, but a holding call on Carolina backed the Panthers up. Dowdle then tripped again and picked up maybe a yard. Punt, and incredibly Billy Bowman Jr. sort of stumbled and tackled Ray-Ray McCloud.
Penix found Pitts, who eluded a tackler for 17 yards. Then Penix fired one to Mooney, who was hit on his route and nearly saw the ball intercepted. He hit Pitts for nine yards on the next play. Penix then hit Mooney downfield, but the clock ran out; slow operational stuff and the lack of timeouts came back to haunt them.
3rd Quarter
A quick pass to Mitchell Evans went for nine yards. Chuba Hubbard then went for two yards and a first down. Hubbard stumbled and then Kaden Elliss drove him backwards for loss of a couple of yards. Hubbard was then stopped for no gain by Jalon Walker. A huge blitz on third down got Young rattled and he threw it into the dirt. Punt, and then the Falcons had it on the 14 yard line.
Bijan went nowhere on first down. On second down, Penix tried to throw a quick one to Bijan, and the Panthers picked it off and returned it for a touchdown. 17-0 Panthers.
A quick pass to Ray-Ray McCloud went for 12 yards and a first down. Robinson then took it 11 yards for a first down. Penix took a hit on the subsequent play and missed London downfield. They were looking for a screen on second down and it just didn’t happen, so Penix flipped it into the dirt. Penix then took off scrambling on third down and got about five yards, well short of what he needed. The Falcons went for it on fourth down and it was a low throw to McCloud, hitting the turf before he could get it. Turnover on downs.
Hubbard took it five yards. Hubbard was then wrapped up and tackled for no gain by Zach Harrison. Dowdle then jumped back inside and picked up the first down. A deep ball to McMillan was nearly caught by Hubbard, but not quite. On the next play, Young took a shot to the end zone and Dee Alford made it difficult enough that McMillan couldn’t bring it in. On the next play, Alford got a questionable pass interference call to give the Panthers a first down, and then Hubbard was tackled after a yard. Young had a lot of time but saw pressure late, and a quick pass to Hubbard didn’t go very far. Then Jalon Walker was called for a neutral zone infraction. On third and 3, though, Kaden Elliss got home for a sack and the Panthers settled for a field goal. 20-0 Panthers.
McCloud bumbled the kick in the end zone; touchback at the 20. Penix then hit Drake London for seven yards. A first down throw to Mooney followed. Penix then put it in the dirt with pressure coming, and then found David Sills for nine yards. Robinson then picked up five yards and an easy first down. A sideline shot to Darnell Mooney was bobbled and ruled an incompletion. Penix then flipped one downfield to London for a first down and 18 yards. A deep shot to Sills in double coverage was incomplete. A pass to Kyle Pitts only picked up three yards. A Penix sideline shot to Mooney was in tight coverage and the ball wasn’t there. On the next play, Penix tried one on the sideline to Ray-Ray McCloud on fourth down, but McCloud fell down and it was picked off and returned a long way.
Young hit Ja’Tavion Sanders for seven yards. Dowdle then picked up the first down.
4th Quarter
Dowdle then gained nothing. Young then it Renfrow for about seven yards. On third down, Young hit Sanders for just short of a first down, and he was hurt on the play; a review subsequently moved it to a first down. Dowdle then took it about four yards. David Onyemata got a tackle to get the stop, but was hurt on the play. A quick pass to Hubbard was just a bit short of a touchdown. Then Dowdle got a touchdown on fourth down. 27-0, Panthers.
Kirk Cousins came in at quarterback and fired one to Drake London for eight yards. A Bijan handoff picked up three yards. Cousins then hit Bijan for two yards, and then found Pitts for a first down. Cousins then hit Bijan for a loss of two. He then hit Allgeier on a swing pass, but Allgeier dropped it. A quick pass to McCloud went for eight yards. Cousins then tried Mooney on fourth down, but it was a little short. Turnover.
Hubbard fell forward for six yards. Hubbard then picked up the first down, and then had a great carry again…except a holding call brought them back. Hubbard picked up a couple of yards on the next play, and then got about 12 on the next play. A swing pass to Tommy Tremble fell a bit short. 30-0 Panthers after the field goal.
Natrone Brooks got it to about the 25. Nate Carter then took it seven yards. Carter then took it for about eight yards and a first down. Carter then picked up another nine yards, and followed that up with a 12 yard pickup. He followed that up with a couple of yards. Carter got a first down again, but fumbled it and Carolina recovered.
