The Atlanta Falcons should be very thankful for one Saquon Barkley drop.
The Falcons were supposed to make a big leap after a quarterback upgrade to Kirk Cousins, and they’re one highly improbable win away from being 0-3. The Falcons started fast on Sunday night but the offense couldn’t keep the momentum going and they lost 22-17 to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Falcons had two chances to win in the fourth quarter. The first drive stalled inside the 10-yard line and was a turnover on downs, and the final shot to win was ended when Bijan Robinson was stopped for a loss on a fourth-and-inches handoff. It was a weird play call, with Robinson being given the handoff moving east and west instead of into the middle of the line. Perhaps concerns about the offensive line, which took on some injuries, played into the call. It didn’t help that a quarterback sneak with Cousins, coming off a torn Achilles, wasn’t on the table. Give the Chiefs credit for making the plays they needed to make to get the win.
The Falcons have had a tough schedule. The combined record of their three opponents is 8-1, and the one loss came when the Falcons rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 after Barkley’s drop led to a game-winning drive by Atlanta. But the NFL doesn’t have much sympathy for teams that have a tough stretch of the schedule. The Falcons aren’t playing well enough to be better than 1-2. And they’re pretty fortunate to be 1-2.
The Falcons got off to a fast start. Kirk Cousins hit Drake London for a 14-yard score and a 7-0 lead. After the Chiefs tied it, Bijan Robinson scored and the Falcons were back up 14-7. Then the offense, which lost a couple of offensive linemen to injuries, stalled. Even worse, the Falcons had a critical turnover near the end of the half.
Instead of playing it safe when they took over with 59 seconds remaining in the half, Cousins dropped back to pass, had his arm hit as he was pressured behind a banged-up offensive line and the Chiefs picked it off. The Chiefs got a field goal right at the end of the half to cut Atlanta’s lead to 14-13.
The third quarter was all Chiefs. They went on a couple of 11-play drives, chewing up most of the clock and scoring a field goal and touchdown. Atlanta barely had the ball in the third quarter and trailed 22-14 going into the fourth quarter.
The only good news for the Falcons is the Chiefs hadn’t put them completely away despite some chances to do so.
The Falcons got a field goal, then forced a punt. They trailed 22-17 with a shot to get a huge win over the two-time reigning champs. It wouldn’t be their last chance.
The Falcons were backed up on their own 6-yard line but then the tempo started to pick up on offense, much like the two-minute drill that won them the game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. London caught a huge pass on fourth down to keep the drive alive. But on back-to-back plays inside the 10-yard line, Cousins threw incomplete to Kyle Pitts (with officials perhaps missing a defensive pass interference call) and London and the Chiefs took over on downs.
The Falcons got another chance right before the two-minute warning. The Chiefs punted after Mahomes misfired to Xavier Worthy on third down, when Worthy seemed to stop his route. That gave Cousins another chance for his second-game winning drive of the season. The drive was kept alive by a couple of Chiefs penalties, and the Falcons drove inside the 20-yard line. They faced fourth-and-inches with less than a minute to go. The Falcons inexplicably ran a wide play to Robinson and he was stopped well short of the line of scrimmage.
The Falcons had chances to win. They’re just not ready to win yet. The Chiefs are used to being in that position and it showed.
