The Falcons are incapable of playing a generic football game. They looked terrible at the start, and then rallied to go up 21-7 before a series of chips in their armor led to Carolina eventually taking
a narrow lead very late in this one. The Falcons then somehow got in field goal range and narrowly made it overtime with Zane Gonzalez hitting the field goal try.
It was nerve-wracking, mistake-loaded for both teams, and featured some truly incredible mishaps on defense for Atlanta, which allowed Bryce Young to easily hit his career high in passing yards. In the end, the Falcons did what they’ve done so many times this year and blew it, allowing a big lead to evaporate, going out with a whimper in overtime, and ultimately letting Tommy Tremble of all people run away with it on them to set up the game-winning Carolina field goal. The Falcons were swept by the Panthers for the first time since 2013, the kind of deeply embarrassing result that leads you to lose five games in a row and effectively ends your season. To be clear, even if the math gives Atlanta some remote hope, their season is indeed over.
What will the team do next? They appear too talented for this, even with injuries taking a major toll on the roster, so perhaps they clean house and try to install a new regime that they hope will reserve a very long string of losing seasons. Perhaps they’ll chalk it up to comical errors and injuries after all and try to run this thing back. Regardless, we’re at the point with the Atlanta Falcons where no outcome is too dire and devastating to imagine, and that alone should tell you that change is once again needed for this franchise.
Here’s the drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
1st Quarter
The Falcons got the ball first, and Jamal Agnew made it to about the 31. Bijan Robinson broke a couple of tackles and got five yards. Unfortunately, an Elijah Wilkinson holding call brought it back. Robinson got about four yards on the next play. Darnell Mooney caught the pass and fumbled, but the Falcons fell on it. Michael Penix Jr. then got away from pressure and tried a sideline ball to Mooney, but it was not on-target and couldn’t be brought in. Punt, and Feleipe Franks got the returner short of the 30.
Rico Dowdle found a seam and managed to pick up about six yards. Bryce Young hit a tight but only got two yards before Kaden Elliss got the tackle. On third down, Young got Jalen Coker for 15 yards and a first down. Dowdle got swallowed up after a yard by Ruke Orhorhoro. Young got hit trying to throw by Khalid Kareem just enough to make it wobble and flutter incomplete. Jessie Bates tackle Ja’Tavion Sanders two yards short of a first down. On fourth down, the Panthers went for it, tried some trickery, and got Xavier Leggette for a big first down. A quick pass to Dowdle got two yards. Dowdle then went up the middle for four yards. Young then found another hole in coverage to Tet McMillan for another first down. Bryce Young tried to get away but James Pearce Jr. caught him from behind for a big loss. Young tried to scramble again but didn’t make it far; an offsides call on Pearce gave the Falcons five yards. McMillan then caught another one for a touchdown. 7-0 Panthers.
Natrone Brooks took it back to the 24 yard line. On first down, Penix found a leaping Drake London over the middle to get then past midfield. Bijan then couldn’t pick a yard on first down. London got another one and rumbled his way all the way down inside the 10 yard line. On the next play, Bijan seemed to have been tackled but stayed on his feet, pushing his way in for a touchdown to tie things up. 7-7 game.
Carolina went to McMillan again for a first down. A swing pass to Trevor Etienne went for a yard before Ronnie Harrison got him. Rico Dowdle was tripped up by Kentavius Street for four yards. Billy Bowman Jr. came in untouched and sacked Young. Punt. Agnew called for the fair catch but did not catch it, with a lucky bounce taking the ball out of bounds.
Robinson picked up about five yards. The Falcons motioned two blockers to the right, but Bijan cut it left and picked up about 20 yards.
2nd Quarter
Bijan then picked up eight yards. Another four or five yards followed. Penix then hit a diving Mooney for a first down. Robinson then took it four yards. Penix then hit London for about five yards. Bijan was hit a little short of the line to gain, but a defensive holding call gave Atlanta first down. A screen to Bijan went for about six yards. Allgeier fought through contact for a first down, but two penalties on the offense backed Atlanta up, with the holding call on Kyle Pitts accepted by Carolina. Under pressure, Penix hit Allgeier for about five yards. Mooney then made an excellent catch for a first down. Robinson then caught another screen and took it to the two yard line for another first down. Bijan was stuffed after gaining maybe a yard. Bijan then cut inside and plunged in for another touchdown. 14-7 Falcons.
The Panthers started on the 30 after the kick rolled into the end zone. Dowdle picked up three yards, but a holding call backed Carolina up. The snap then came late, and the Panthers got called for a false start. Dowdle then spun his way for two yards. Young tossed it away under pressure in the end zone. A quick pass to Sanders went nowhere with Bowman bringing him down. Punt, and the Falcons got it around their own 40.
Bijan took it 11 yards on first down. He got four yards on the next carry. Robinson then make a filthy cut to pick up a couple more yards. A false start by Chris Lindstrom then backed Atlanta up. Penix then hit London, who got hit by multiple defenders but got the first. The next pass from Penix to London was too high, but that was because an illegal use of the hands penalty that gave the Falcons a first down. Robinson then picked up eight yards with an insane cut inside. On the next play, Penix got the ball out right before pressure got home to London, who fought through penalized contact to make a tough catch. With pressure in his face, Penix had to toss it away, but a defensive holding call gave the Falcons five yards. On the next play, Tyler Allgeier bulldozed his way into the end zone for Atlanta’s third rushing touchdown of the day. 21-7 Falcons.
Ronnie Harrison got Trevor Etienne at the 32. Under pressure, Young got it off to McMillan, who took it 40 yards. Chuba Hubbard took it about six yards. A rainbow to Hubbard went for a first down and seven yards. Hubbard took it about six yards on first down. A drop by Hubbard was nearly picked off by Billy Bowman Jr. Young then tried McMillan in the end zone but couldn’t get him. The Panthers got the chip shot field goal to make it 21-10 Falcons.
Bijan was tripped up after a few yards and the Falcons called a timeout. Bijan picked up like 15 yards on a first down carry but didn’t get out of bounds before the half ended.
3rd Quarter
After getting the ball around the 30, Dowdle took a swing pass for four yards. Young hit Coker for five yards. Dowdle then barely got the first. Young under real pressure managed to hit Coker again for a first down. Young then hit Legette for a touchdown down the sideline, working against Natrone Brooks. Young was dropped by James Pearce Jr. on a two point conversion try. 21-15 Falcons.
On the kick return, Natrone Brooks somehow fumbled the kickoff return, and the Panthers picked it up. A low throw to Legette went for eight yards. Dowdle went for a yard, but a holding call backed up Carolina. Legette caught a short pass for another first down. Dowdle took it three yards, and then another three. Sanders then caught it, but did not pick up a first down with Cobee Bryant bringing him down. Young tried to roll out and pick up the first down, but Elliss got him. Turnover on downs.
Robinson went nowhere on first down. A quick pass to Kyle Pitts went for seven yards. Penix managed to handle a rough snap and hit London for a first down. Penix then scrambled for nine yards. On second down, Lindstrom got popped for his second holding call. Penix then went for Mooney, but he couldn’t bring it in. Penix threw it away as he got hit, and he appeared to be hurt on the play. The Panthers then got a neutral zone infraction to give the Falcons a little more breathing room on the punt. Bradley Pinion then pinned the Panthers back near their own 20 yard line.
Dowdle went up the middle for a few yards. Dowdle then took a swing pass for nearly 20 yards. Young then rolled it on the ground with Bowman on his way. Hubbard then got six yards. Young then hit McMillan for a first down. Young once again got a big pass play downfield to about the 20. Dowdle then got four yards. Tommy Tremble then dropped the pass. Then A.J. Terell had the end zone pass deflection. The Panthers got the field goal try to make it 21-19 Falcons.
Brooks slipped a little and got it past the 25. Kirk Cousins was in the game. Allgeier took it about five yards, and then he followed it up with four yards.
4th Quarter
Kirk Cousins got a first down on the quarterback sneak. Allgeier caught a swing pass for a couple of yards. Cousins then hit Pitts just shy of a first down. The Panthers then completely stuffed Bijan on third down. Pinion then pinned Carolina around the 15.
A wide open McMillan working against Brooks picked up a big first down. Dowdle then picked up four yards. On the next pass, the ball was jarred loose by Natrone Brooks but there was no whistle heard, so Ronnie Harrison picked it up and ran it back for a touchdown; it was then called incomplete. On third down, Young tried to scramble and Ronnie Harrison got him for a sack. Punt.
Starting from just inside the 20, Bijan picked up six yards. On second down, though, the Falcons lost a yard. The ball from Cousins on third down went a little high to London, but a call on the Panthers gave the Falcons a first down. A swing pass to Robinson went for nine yards. Cousins under pressure threw it away, and on second down he tried Mooney but the coverage was absurdly tight (and maybe penalty-worthy), and then Cousins tried it over the middle to Mooney in triple coverage and it fell incomplete. The Falcons had to punt, and Carolina was deep in their own territory.
Dowdle made it about seven yards. Young then threw it short of Legette and came up limping, but found Coker for a first down on the next play. Dowdle picked up about three yards. Terrell had fantastic coverage on McMillan to force a second down incompletion. A screen to McMillan got enough blocking to pick up the first down. The Falcons challenged the marker, and it was a successful challenge. Dowdle then got the first down. Natrone Brooks then flew in to break up the first down pass attempt. A swing pass to Dowdle got six yards. Chuba Hubbard was then hit by Ronnie Harrison for a big run stop on third down. Bryce Young fell down with the snap and Atlanta got him on fourth down to end the Carolina drive.
Bijan got a yard or two on first down. He followed that up with three yards. Cousins tried to get London on third down but London couldn’t reel it in as he was hit. That set up Zane Gonzalez for a 52 yard try, and Gonzalez hit it.
Touchback, unfortunately, so Carolina started from the 35. Harrison then tipped the first down pass and caused it to fall incomplete. A quick strike over the middle picked up six yards. Young then tried a pass with plenty of time, and it was too high for Hubbard. Sanders picked up the first down on the fourth down strike over the middle. Young then got a sideline ball to the sideline for a first down. Young then hit Dowdle with pressure coming in, and nobody was able to stop Dowdle as he got into the end zone. On review, it was 1st and 10 at the 10 yard line. Dowdle was then stopped cold by Orhorhoro on first down. Young then tried Dowdle working against Elliss, and it fell incomplete. Young then scrambled away from pressure and found McMillan for the touchdown. Young then got Coker to make it a three point game, Panthers 27-24.
Jamal Agnew brought it back to the 45. Cousins then hit David Sills for a first down and 11 yards, and Sills got out of bounds. Bijan then caught it over the middle for a first down. Cousins was then under pressure, was hit as he threw, and it fell incomplete. Cousins then hit London for about seven yards, and the Falcons took a timeout. Cousins tried London down the sideline, but the coverage was good and London couldn’t get to it. Zane Gonzalez just barely hit it from 45 yards out to make it 27-27.
Overtime
Atlanta got the ball first after Carolina won the toss, and it was a touchback. Bijan got four yards on the ground on first down, and a screen to Bijan went for an easy first down. An ineligible player downfield call on Ryan Neuzil backed Atlanta up and erased the gain. A middle of the field throw to Pitts was dropped, as Pitts appeared ready to run before he had control of it. He tried KhaDarel Hodge on third down, but it low and was not caught. Pinion’s punt landed at the 29.
Dowdle picked up a couple of yards. A pass to Tommy Tremble somehow went inside the 15 yard line. Then Dowdle took it three times to get closer and Ryan Fitzgerald just barely hit the game-winning field goal, and the Panthers won 30-27.
