- 19 hours ago
The Atlanta Falcons rolled into a Sunday Night Football matchup in Week 5 with the wind at their backs after two straight blowout wins, but got a dose of humble pie after allowing a late lead to slip away in the final moments en route to an overtime home loss. The team will remain on the hunt for its first home win against the visiting Chicago Bears next week with uncertainty at the quarterback position after Michael Penix left the loss late with a rib injury.
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00:01What should be a home field advantage is turning into a bit of a house of horrors here for the
00:05Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
00:07Welcome back to Joe Patrick on football. Everybody recapping the Falcons' overtime loss on Sunday night football to the Baltimore
00:12Ravens here, 30-23.
00:15That just wrapped up a little over an hour or so ago.
00:19You know, rough game for the Falcons in this one.
00:22They were actually, in my opinion, quite fortunate to be in the position they were in for the majority of
00:27this game, where they really led it throughout.
00:28The team went into halftime with a 14-9 lead.
00:32They basically maintained somewhere between an 8- to 3-point lead for, or 2-point lead, I guess it
00:38was, for a decent chunk of this game.
00:41Even though I would say that the Ravens came out in this game and were the better football team from
00:46basically the jump.
00:48And I think, you know, the Falcons certainly got themselves into the game.
00:51And I'm not saying that they were the worst team throughout.
00:54The Falcons definitely started to get their momentum.
00:56Michael Penix Jr. got his legs under him and was connecting with Drake London.
01:01They got into a rhythm, and the Falcons were definitely on top for certain portions of this game.
01:05But ultimately, honestly, for as brutal as this loss feels in terms of the comeback, the deficit that Baltimore had
01:13to overcome, especially late in this game.
01:15They drove down the length of the field to score, to erase the 8-point deficit they faced that led
01:20them into overtime, and then got to overtime.
01:24I kind of think ball don't lie in this game.
01:26I feel like the Ravens were the more physical team.
01:29We've heard from Kevin Stefanski many times over the last couple weeks when he's been doing these speeches in the
01:35winning locker room, when they've beaten the Packers and the Saints, saying, you know, how you run the football and
01:40how you stop the run says what you are as a football team.
01:43And I think it said what these teams were tonight on this football field, where the Ravens outgained the Falcons,
01:49what was it, 208 to 110 on the ground.
01:52And, you know, it just felt like the longer this game went on, the more the Ravens were going to
01:58continue to push that advantage.
01:59And that was clearly their game plan with the backup quarterback in place.
02:03And it makes you wonder about this Falcons team and how good actually are they if they can't beat a
02:10Ravens team without Lamar Jackson.
02:12You know, and listen, Tyler Huntley is a good backup quarterback in his own right, has a decent record as
02:18a backup quarterback.
02:20But this is only, I believe, the second time he's won when he's been forced to throw over 25 times.
02:26He threw 32 times a night, the same as Michael Penix.
02:28I thought both teams ended up throwing the ball quite a bit, especially the Falcons.
02:32I would not have expected them to throw it 32 times.
02:35And for B. John Robinson to only have 17 carries in this game, he had a few more touches in
02:40that passing game.
02:41But you would think that for a team that has the score advantage in the game, you know, the game
02:46state, quote unquote, kind of in their in their favor,
02:49for them to be able to run the football.
02:50But ultimately, I think what that speaks to is the fact that they were able to acquire that lead, like
02:54we were talking about,
02:56without really being able to establish themselves and who they were as a football team and really imposing themselves on
03:02the opponent like they were the last two weeks.
03:04It wasn't that kind of a flow for the Falcons tonight.
03:07And that's why ultimately I say that this game was a lot closer, I guess, than the score would have
03:13indicated.
03:14In fact, I actually think the Baltimore Ravens were just the better football team for, again, like I said, the
03:18majority of this game.
03:20But it's obviously a very disappointing loss.
03:21You know, stunts some good momentum that this team had coming into this game, obviously having won those last two
03:29games in pretty emphatic fashion with the points they scored.
03:33It being on prime time in front of national TV audience, of course, that was again the case tonight.
03:37And they just were not able to come through.
03:39And it's going to leave a lot of Falcons fans feeling like, you know, same old Falcons.
03:45And I can't even say that, you know, anybody's wrong to think that.
03:49I know I was texting with friends and family during this game, especially at the end of it.
03:53And I was like, I kind of have an idea about the way this is going, you know.
03:59And it just felt like with that drive they gave up at the end of the game, it just felt
04:03like they were leaking oil, basically.
04:06And that they needed something to kind of happen, a turnover, a big sack,
04:12something that was really going to stem the flow of the way that the momentum was going.
04:16And, you know, I think Falcons fans, maybe more than any other fan base,
04:18can really understand how bad it can get when it does feel like that momentum starts to go against you.
04:23And it just felt like that defense, especially once they got to the overtime,
04:27they'd already been on the field.
04:29That long drive that the Ravens had, that ended up tying the game.
04:32And at that point, that defense had just been on the field for a while.
04:35I wonder if that's why Jesse Minner, the Ravens head coach,
04:38elected to have his team receive in that overtime period,
04:42where that is kind of strategically, you would think in most cases,
04:46like not the way to go because in the new overtime rules, both teams get the ball.
04:51That way you have basically four downs.
04:53You know exactly what you need when you're the team getting the ball second.
04:56But the Ravens were able to just roll their momentum from that last drive into the overtime period
05:01and were wearing down that Falcons defense.
05:04And then on top of that, they were wearing them down so much to the point that
05:08they nearly damn ran the entire overtime clock out.
05:11I was wondering if the Falcons were going to have to let them score at one point.
05:14Ultimately, they don't necessarily.
05:17And the Ravens do find the end zone.
05:20But it was just kind of a pathetic, honestly, way to see a team finish a football game
05:26and not the kind of identity you want to see a team leave.
05:31So a rough night for the Falcons, where it felt like if they were to have gotten to three and
05:35two
05:36after this game, then, you know, all directions would have been pointing forward and up
05:40and just it would have been a very rosy picture.
05:43And instead, we're left with a very questionable picture,
05:45especially because the quarterback that finished this game was Tua Tagovailoa.
05:50Michael Penix gets hit in the final Falcons' final regular time drive,
05:58suffers a rib injury, Kevin Stefanski said after the game that he has a rib injury.
06:03He will have imaging on that rib probably tomorrow, and they'll see where they go from there.
06:08Michael Penix did say, for his part, that he does not expect it to be long-term,
06:12but he didn't say he was necessarily coming back this week.
06:14So I think that, you know, the questions remain as to what the quarterback situation is again for the Falcons.
06:20And even if it is just for a short-term period, that's nowhere where any Falcons fan or coach, frankly,
06:26wants to be,
06:27especially with what we saw from Tua Tagovailoa coming into this game.
06:30I mean, that interception, that end of the game was basically as pathetic as it gets.
06:35He actually had a very open receiver on that play.
06:38I don't remember who it was, whether it was Drake or Jahan Dotson,
06:41but Tua just completely underthrows it, and it's late.
06:46It was there, and if they were to have, you know, strung something together there,
06:50you know, maybe they could have gotten something going.
06:53But that was rough, and it's not going to leave any Falcons with confidence
06:56that he's going to be a quarterback that can actually lead them to anything successful.
07:00If he does have to play coming up when they have tough opponents,
07:03the Bears come in next Sunday and then the 49ers after that.
07:07So we were looking forward to this stretch because we were going to see just how much this Falcons,
07:12how legit this Falcons team was after two really impressive weeks the last two weeks.
07:17I would say at the first hurdle, if we're talking about the Ravens being the first
07:20of those quality three opponents in a row, it's a failure for this team.
07:24And again, I would say even beyond the score, even beyond like the capitulation of losing the lead
07:30in the way that they did, it was actually just not being the more physical football team
07:34in this game after it felt like this team was establishing that identity for itself.
07:40Now listen, Derrick Henry is a really tough running back to bring down.
07:45I was talking to another reporter after the game, and he made a good point with us.
07:49If you were to pick any closer to have on a team, it doesn't even have to necessarily be a
07:54running back,
07:55but a closer would typically be a running back, someone who'd just give the ball in every play.
08:00Derrick Henry would be that guy.
08:01He's a guy who can be a bruiser.
08:04You know, guys don't necessarily want to get in his path and try to stop a specimen like him.
08:14But you don't like to see the Falcons kind of capitulate to that, to that kind of a player.
08:20And the Falcons couldn't get their own kind of physical nature going the other way against that Ravens defense.
08:26In fact, the Ravens, I thought, were really crowding the box.
08:29It's Michael Pennix talked about the Ravens bringing in a lot more three linebacker sets than what they've faced previously,
08:36where, you know, you see nickel for the most part in NFL games.
08:40And he said that, you know, the Ravens were bringing a lot of 4-3 looks,
08:43and that's actually what had him throwing the ball more is because they were checking into more passes
08:47because of these fronts that the Ravens were presenting,
08:50because they were clearly out there to make sure that they were not going to be, like,
08:54physically dominated by this Falcons offensive line and running game
08:58that the Falcons had shown to be so effective in the prior two weeks.
09:02So a lot for the Falcons to work on coming out of this one.
09:05And, you know, another real disappointing thing, and it's what we started the show with,
09:08is that, you know, you come back into this building when you have this good momentum
09:12after you have these big wins on the road,
09:13and you want to kind of prove to your home fans that you are a different football team
09:17after having gone through that, and, you know, were they a better football team
09:21than what these home fans would have seen previously
09:23when the team played against the Carolina Panthers in their home opener?
09:27Obviously, you know, but you obviously have a different quarterback as well.
09:30Ultimately, it's going to leave all the fans that came here disappointed in what they saw,
09:34and rightfully so, you know, and again, not just because of giving up the lead at the end of the
09:40game,
09:41although that's obviously certainly a big part of it,
09:43and for the Falcons organization in general,
09:45that's always going to be something that fans are kind of sensitive to.
09:49But, again, I would say that they really should be disappointed
09:53because you were seeing a team that was really not the better football team
09:57for the majority despite the fact that you were going up against
10:00a very weakened Baltimore Ravens team
10:03by virtue of the fact they didn't have their starting quarterback.
10:06And so, you know, it's like this stadium.
10:11They cannot make it a home field advantage.
10:15I've been waiting for them to really kind of change the dynamic in this place,
10:20and they have not been able to do that.
10:23You do that by winning football games, and they just haven't had,
10:27whether it's the talent, whether it's the coaching,
10:30whether it's the circumstances in giving games,
10:32they just have not gotten the job done to a requisite level.
10:35So a tough one here for the Falcons tonight.
10:39Knocks them down to two and three.
10:41Certainly doesn't end their season or anything.
10:42You know, we were talking to some of the players afterwards,
10:44and, you know, like I would say Kyle Pitts, for example,
10:46was one to say, you know, listen, like we didn't get –
10:50we didn't think that our season was, like, totally made
10:53because we won those last two games.
10:54I'm not – he didn't say this specifically,
10:55but I'm kind of extrapolating a little bit more out of what he said.
11:00And similarly, we're not going to let this loss just, like, tank us, you know.
11:03And I think that that's something that Kevin Stefanski is working on with this group
11:06is to not let either a bad win – or a bad loss or a great win
11:10really kind of matter for the next week
11:13because the next week is its own season of itself.
11:17Now, Kevin Stefanski did say that good football teams went on Monday night,
11:20and then they went on Sunday, and this team did not do that.
11:24So is this team a good team?
11:26I guess I can be debated.
11:28But I would say probably not.
11:30I would say probably not.
11:31It's a team that's potentially getting better.
11:33And I think we did see some bright spots tonight.
11:36Let's not get out of here without highlighting some of those.
11:38I thought Michael Penix to Drake London,
11:40that connection continues to prove really, really fruitful.
11:43I thought Penix was great on third down tonight,
11:45especially facing some really difficult third down situations.
11:49Third and longs, I think there was a third and 15
11:51that they convert late in this game
11:52that should have been really pivotal,
11:57but not able to obviously do enough.
12:00And Penix ultimately gets knocked out.
12:02And I think that this passing game,
12:04it probably does need some diversification
12:06just in terms of what Penix can execute.
12:09Obviously, the play action worked really well
12:11in the last two weeks against the Packers and Saints,
12:13but when the running game wasn't working as well tonight,
12:15and I think the Ravens were kind of coming out
12:17not going to bite on any play action.
12:19Or I shouldn't say not biting on play action,
12:21but on the back end of the Ravens' edges on the backside
12:27were basically not committing to the run at all.
12:30They were going right to Penix.
12:31And so I think a lot of the play action
12:33that Tommy Reese has been wanting to use
12:34is with Penix booting out.
12:36And that was just not available for him tonight
12:39because he had a defender in his face
12:40basically the moment he turned around.
12:42And that caused problems.
12:43It caused even a problem
12:45on what should have been an amazing moment
12:46with Jake Matthews catching a touchdown pass
12:49on his 200th start.
12:51And, you know, should he have caught it?
12:52Yes, of course.
12:53It hits him in the hands.
12:54But it was a little high.
12:55He had to jump forward a little bit.
12:57And, you know, Penix kind of throws it on a line.
12:59And it's just like,
13:00because Penix was having to get it out there quick
13:02because that defender is right in his face.
13:04But that's not probably even the best example of it.
13:06There are other examples throughout the game
13:08where he's just got that defender in his face.
13:09And so I think they had to go to some other things
13:12with their passing game.
13:13A lot of them are just kind of straight-up dropbacks,
13:15which they hadn't really done as much previously.
13:18But I think there's room for them to grow there again.
13:20But they really need Penix.
13:22They really need Penix playing
13:23because there isn't another quarterback
13:25that's nearly as capable of what he's capable of
13:28with this offense.
13:29It was great to see Jesse Bates kind of, you know,
13:32get involved, be that kind of game-changing type of player safety
13:36that he is early in this game,
13:38returns a fumble for a touchdown,
13:41maybe not history,
13:42but becomes the only defensive player in the NFL right now
13:46who has scored a defensive touchdown in four straight seasons.
13:50This is now the fourth season in which he's done it.
13:52So credit to him.
13:53I thought that he was just generally looking better.
13:55I think he's generally looked better than he did
13:57maybe those first couple weeks of the season,
13:59first two or three weeks of the season,
14:01where I think he was a little hampered by a back injury
14:04that held him out for a lot of training camp.
14:06And I think he may have been just kind of working himself back
14:09into some type of game speed and kind of understanding
14:12his kind of spatial awareness in certain situations.
14:15I think he's looking better.
14:16I thought Xavier Watts played decently well,
14:19had a really important pass breakup against Mark Andrews at one point,
14:22also gets flagged really importantly on a Zay Flowers.
14:25Well, Zay Flowers caught the ball anyway,
14:26but it was just poorly defended there by Xavier Watts in that situation.
14:30Not that he should really be in that situation, defending Zay Flowers.
14:34But, you know, that also speaks to the Falcons' weaknesses
14:38that they're having right now on defense in terms of the injury front.
14:41At cornerback, they were down actually when they gave up the touchdown,
14:46not the game-tying touchdown,
14:47because Ravens still needed to convert the two-point conversion.
14:50But Mike Ford actually had to come into that game, played outside corner.
14:54Baltimore targets him immediately and scores.
14:57And that's the only reason Mike Ford was in the game
14:59is because C.J. Henderson was out of the game.
15:00You obviously had A.J. Terrell, who was on IR,
15:03and Mike Hughes had just gone down.
15:04So I know for as much frustration as Mike Hughes is causing Falcons fans,
15:09he really is an important piece right now with the players they're missing,
15:12especially after C.J. Henderson went out of this game,
15:14which was quite a blow for this team.
15:16And it will be very interesting to monitor his status
15:18to see if he's able to return this week.
15:20Otherwise, the Falcons' secondary will have their hands full,
15:23potentially against Caleb Williams,
15:25and a renewed Bears offensive attack.
15:27Even though the Bears got crushed today,
15:29you wonder if that might even kind of spur Caleb Williams
15:32to hasten his return for next week's game.
15:36So we'll see what happens.
15:37The Bears do come to this building, to Mercedes-Benz Stadium,
15:39where can the Falcons actually get a win in this building?
15:42I don't know. We'll see.
15:43But we'll talk to you guys after we talk to Kevin Stefanski tomorrow.