The Atlanta Falcons have never played a normal game and weren't about to start just because they were on national TV. After blowing out the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints by 21 points,the Falcons were brought back down to earth against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football in Week 5.
Atlanta's offense got off to a slow start, with Michael Penix Jr. missing his first five throws. The Falcons' first points of the game came on a defensive touchdown by Jessie Bates III returning a fumble. They went into the second quarter with the lead despite not having a single passing yard. That's something no NFL team had done since 2017,according to Marc Raimondi at ESPN.
"The Falcons led 7-3 after the first quarter despite not having a pass
completion or a passing yard in the quarter. That had not happened since 2017, per ESPN Research. Falcons safety Jessie Bates III returned a fumble for a touchdown to give Atlanta its TD."
Credit a tough Ravens defense for keeping Bijan Robinson's production only at a human All-Star level rather than the alien MVP numbers he's been putting up lately.
Baltimore also made it tough on the other side of the field, rolling with a creative rushing game-plan centered around Derrick Henry but also playing off of him with a lot of wrinkles. Tyler Huntley got them the plays they needed when it mattered most, and that was that.
If there's a silver lining, this kind of frustrating loss should be the kind of thing to give the Falcons all the motivation they need to play at their absolute best for a few weeks.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons did something vs. Ravens no NFL team has in 9 years
