We saw an all-too-familiar dynamic play out for the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday night's loss to the Baltimore Ravens. They led for almost the entire game, but suffered a defensive collapse in the fourth quarter and overtime, ending in a game-sealing interception by backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
While it wasn't quite as bad as the collapse they suffered in Super Bowl LI, it boiled down to the same problem. Their defense couldn't get the stops they needed to get off the field in the second half - and by the time overtime came around they were utterly exhausted. That made it impossible to make simple tackles in space, let alone get to a quarterback as mobile as Tyler Huntley. When the Ravens won the cointoss to start overtime, they won the game.
For their efforts, John Breech at CBS Sportshas given the Falcons a "B" grade, but he also called it a back-breaking loss.
"This was a back-breaking loss for Atlanta. The Falcons went into this game with the best rush defense in the NFL -- giving up less than 50 yards per game -- but they got exposed by Derrick Henry and a Ravens rushing attack that topped 200 yards on the ground. That seemed to wear the defense down, which might explain why the Falcons just weren't able to make a stop late in the game. The Falcons defense came away with three sacks, but those were all in the first half..."
There was a lot to like in the loss, though. Michael Penix played his third-straight sharp game. His connection with Drake London is about as productive as any QB/WR in the game right now, Bijan Robinson is still running very efficiently, and their defense is performing far better than they have any right to given the prices they're missing.
While it's frustrating to lose to a backup QB at home and to see Penix get hurt again, this team is still heading in the right direction overall. Bouncing back this coming week and beating a (potentially) Caleb Williams-less Chicago Bears team would make things right again.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: CBS Sports grades Falcons' 30-23 loss to Ravens
