Atlanta Falcons 3-43 Dallas Cowboys: For Falc Sake

In soccer, there is a chant for when a fan doesn't think a player is worthy or good enough to play for their team that goes like this, "You're not fit to wear the shirt!". Well that's exactly how I feel about the majority of these Atlanta Falcons. The roster is made up of about ten NFL calibre players and the rest are journeyman who I would happily leave in Dallas.

A spineless unprepared showing from the Falcons leaves them with little doubt on where they stack up against playoff level opposition. It's not good enough. I feel for the fans who spent their hard earned money traveling to Dallas to watch this debacle. The last time we trailed by 33 or more at half time was 1967. The worst first half for the Atlanta Falcons in 54 years!

The Dallas Cowboys have a rich history of winning but their 29 points in the 2nd quarter was a franchise record. It was our biggest defeat since 2004. Results like this when you have a franchise quarterback like Matt Ryan are unforgivable. Arthur Smith inherited a mess but he has no excuses for a result like this. Terry Fontenot needs to make the tough decisions. Trotting out wide receivers who can't get any separation week after week shouldn't be happening. How many more years will we have a defence that can't rush the passer? Or an Offensive Line that can't protect the Quarterback? 

As fans we knew this would be a rebuilding season despite Smith and Fontenot saying the opposite. A sense of delusion from top to bottom to how bad this team really is has infected this franchise for years. It's why Arthur Blank failed to act on Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff's incompetence until last year even though they should have been sacked much sooner. 

The Game

The first offensive drive of the game for the Dallas Cowboys set the tone for how the game would go. An early pick six opportunity for Erik Harris was dropped. The Cowboys offensive line manhandled the Falcons defensive line giving Dak Prescott plenty of time as he converted two crucial 3rd downs. The first an 11 yard completion on 3rd and 5 to Michael Gallup to move the ball to the Falcons 17 and on the second, he found CeeDee Lamb in the endzone for a 13 yard touchdown on 3rd and 6. Younghoe Koo kicked a FG as the Falcons offense stuttered in the redzone again on their opening drive to make the game 7-3. The Falcons forced a punt and moved the ball to the Cowboys 32 before turning the ball over on downs on their next possession. 

The game spiralled out of control from this moment onwards. A twelve play 68 yard drive that was capped off by an Ezekiel Elliot 1 yard touchdown run extended Dallas lead to 14-3. The key play on this drive being a 4th and 5 conversion to that man Lamb again for 21 yards. A second consecutive 68 yard touchdown drive for the Cowboys was eerily similar. The Falcons failed to stop the Cowboys on 4th down again and Elliot rushed for his 2nd touchdown of the day. The Falcons had run into a buzz saw. Dorance Armstrong sacked Matt Ryan to force another three and out after Jalen Mayfield whiffed on a block. 59 yards later, the Cowboys increased their lead to 28-3 as Lamb scored on a 9 yard touchdown reception. It was like Noah's ark, two touchdowns for Zeke, two touchdowns for Lamb and two touchdowns for Dak. After the Falcons went three and out for the 3rd consecutive drive, their special teams unit came out to punt and it was blocked. Nanshon Wright recovered the ball in the endzone for a 4th Cowboys touchdown in the 2nd quarter. The extra point attempt was good but a penalty for twelve men on the field gave Dallas the opportunity to accept and go for 2. They of course converted, to make the score 36-3. All three phases were completely dominated.



Why Always Us?


In the second half you would have expected some adjustments, signs of improvement and the Falcons to score some garbage time points. Winning the second half should have been the message. Instead we started the second half like we ended the first. Silly penalties and mental errors led to another embarrassing half. Make no mistake this could have been 60-3 if the Cowboys didn't ease up in the second half.

Falcons Negatives

Everything. Matt Ryan had the lowest passer rating of his career. The offensive line got man handled outside of their first two drives. Ryan's receivers were repeat offenders of dropping easy catches. The playcalling on offense wasn't good. Trying to establish the run when down 21-3 with back to back runs was stupid. Ryan's interception to Diggs was abysmal as he overthrew Kyle Pitts, completely missing a WIDE OPEN Tajae Sharpe down the sideline. The defensive line produced a no show like only the Falcons defensive line can; only 2 quarterback pressures and zero sacks. Our overmatched secondary had no way of covering Dallas trio of wide outs. Dean Pees has not had a good year as our defensive coordinator. Maybe the Falcons and him would of been better off if he stayed retired. Terry Fontenot seems to have missed on a few players. Whilst it is difficult to expect a huge impact from your rookie class, Jalen Mayfield already seems like a reach, Drew Dalman is nowhere near ready and Frank Darby can't get a look in despite us having an atrocious set of wide receivers.   

What I would like to see

Enough is enough. How bad do certain defensive players on this team have to play for their back ups to warrant playing time? Deion Jones needs to be dropped for Mykal Walker. Richie Grant made a nice play in the second half forcing a fumble by punching the ball out of Ezekiel Elliots hand Peanut Tillman style. Going forward he should start over Erik Harris. If his injury isn't serious, get Jaylinn Hawkins starting at safety over Duron Harmon. These guys can't be any worse then the product already out on the field. Our record maybe be 4-5 but our score differential is -85. An embarrassing effort considering we have played a few of the worst NFL teams in those 9 games.

Box Score

Atlanta Falcons
Passing: Matt Ryan 9/21, 117 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, passer rating 21.4.
Rushing: Wayne Gallman 15 carries for 55 yards.
Receiving: Kyle Pitts 4 receptions for 60 yards.

Dallas Cowboys
Passing: Dak Prescott 23/31, 296 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, passer rating 127.9.
Rushing: Ezekiel Elliot 14 carries for 41 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 fumble. Tony Pollard 11 rushes for 42 yards.
Receiving: CeeDee Lamb 6 receptions for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Highlights

The massacre is available here on youtube

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