Detroit Lions 16-20 Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons finally win at home
The Game
Expectation of a Falcons win increased as it was announced Jared Goff would miss out due to Covid. Tim Boyle started in his place at quarterback. The Falcons offensive line has come in for a lot of criticism this season and they had fans fuming at their opening drive, as they allowed Matt Ryan to be sacked three times. After a Thomas Morstead punt, Detroit starting at their own 38 yard line. Dean Pees defence bent but didn't break as they shut the Lions down in the redzone. They had got to the redzone in part, thanks to 4 catches for 27 yards from Amon-Ra St.Brown. Riley Patterson's 26 yard field goal gave Detroit a 3-0 lead.
After the teams exchanged punts, a good 12 yard Avery Williams punt return left the Falcons near midfield. Cordarelle Patterson's 11th touchdown of the year saw the Falcons take a 7-3 lead. Patterson scored on a half back toss on 4th and inches from the Detroit 6 yard line.
Dan Campbell's team done a magnificent job of controlling time of possession leaving the Falcons offense on the sideline for long periods. Running back Craig Reynolds featured plenty on this drive; before the Lions faced a punt on 4th and 6 at the Atlanta 46. Detroit dived into their bag of tricks calling a fake punt pass from Jack Fox, which was caught by KhaDarel Hodge getting them to the Falcons 24. Three plays later, Tim Boyle threw a 20 yard pass to Amon-Ra St.Brown for a touchdown.
Atlanta responded with a Younghoe Koo 53 yard field goal, tying the game at 10-10. We gained 43 yards before settling for the kick. Two Olamide Zaccheaus catches and a pair of Mike Davis rushes had gotten us into Detroit territory. The score was tied at 10 at the half. A lovely Matt Ryan pass to Kyle Pitts down the sideline for 35 yards set up Younghoe Koo's second field goal of the day on Atlanta's opening possesion of the third quarter. 13-10 Falcons.
The Falcons defence done a good job in the redzone again limiting Detroit to a field goal. It was the third drive Detroit had taking over 7 minutes off the clock. Riley Patterson continued his perfect kicking record this season to level the score again. 13-13. Matt Ryan orchestrated a 10 play 71 yard touchdown drive to retake the lead for Atlanta. It was one of the most complete drives from Arthur Smith's men all season as they utilised the run and pass plays. Ryan hit Hayden Hurst in the corner of the endzone for the tightends 2nd touchdown catch of the season. 20-13 Falcons.
One of the repetitive elements of this game, was the Falcons defences ability to prevent touchdowns in the redzone. The Lions ate over ten minutes off the clock on a 17 play drive only to settle for a 3rd Riley Patterson field goal of the game. It was a curious decision from Dan Campbell to not go for it on 4th and 5 from the Falcons 8 yard line. This left the score at 20-16 and it would remain that way, despite Russell Gage fumbling in Atlanta territory on the Falcons next possession. Arthur Smith dialed up a wide receiver screen to Russell Gage on third down. Jalen Reeves-Maybin forced the fumble. The Lions recovered the football at the 37 yard line.
With 36 seconds left in the game and Detroit situated on the Atlanta 9, Tim Boyle tried to fit a pass over the middle, only for Foye Oluokun to read his eyes and intercept the pass. Atlanta's defence held strong in the redzone again.
The Atlanta Falcons are now 7-2 this season in one score games. Dean Pees defence now has the longest active streak of consecutive games with a takeaway in the NFL with 11. An impressive stat given the lack of talent and pass rushing ability on the roster.
Falcons MVP
Chris Lindstrom: Lindstrom has arguably been the Falcons player of the season. Lindstrom hasn't allowed a sack all year. He can count himself unlucky to miss out on a pro bowl spot. He possibly missed out because he plays on a porous offensive line. Lindstrom lost his mother earlier in the week but showed huge courage to play this week performing the best of any player in my opinion. Lindstrom earned a 92.5 PFF grade for his performance.
Falcons Positives
Kyle Pitts: I had said in my preview that I fancied Pitts to have his best game since his performance at the Miami Dolphins earlier in the season. Pitts delivered this, catching 6 passes for 102 yards. The most impressive of these was a 35 yard gain early in the third quarter shown below.
Pitts broke Tony Gonzalez's Falcons record for most receiving yards in a season by a tightend. He also became the first rookie tightend in NFL history with 60+ catches and 900+ receiving yards. Pitts was PFF's highest graded Falcon this week with a score of 92.9.
Falcons Negatives
No Pass Rush: The Falcons didn't have a sack again this weekend. The whole Atlanta defence have only 16 sacks this season. TJ Watt by himself has 17.5. We have nine less sacks then the next worse team. Pass Rusher should be the Falcons #1 priority in the offseason. They only produced two quarterback hits against the Lions(one apiece from Dante Fowler Jr and James Vaughters).
Run Blocking: Atlanta only rushed for 47 yards on 18 carries. It is hard to run a balanced offense when you are averaging just 2.6 yards per carry. Replacing Jalen Mayfield should be another priority for Terry Fontenout this summer.
The Atlanta Falcons currently rank last in DVOA. It is fair to say that 7 wins is an improvement on last season but we aren't as good as our record suggests. We have gotten lucky with our schedule playing most of the worst teams in the league. Beating the Jets, Jaguars, Giants and Lions would be a stroll in the park for any competent team. The best win we have had this season was the win at the 7-7 Saints with Trevor Siemian at quarterback. We have been blown out by every credible team we have played this year.
What Arthur Smith had to say
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith had this to say during his press conference "That has been our ethos. Find a way to win,". "You can fact check me here, but I believe we're 7-2 in one-score games. We're trying to create a culture of winning, of playing as a team and playing smart, situational football."
Box Score
Detroit Lions
Passing: Tim Boyle 24/34 for 187 yards, a touchdown and an interception, 81.4 passer rating.
Rushing: Jamaal Williams 17 carries for 91 yards.
Receiving: Amon-Ra St.Brown 9 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Atlanta Falcons
Passing: Matt Ryan 18/24 for 215 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions, 115.8 passer rating.
Rushing: Cordarelle Patterson 7 carries for 13 yards and a touchdown.
Receiving: Kyle Pitts 6 catches for 102 yards.
Comments
Post a Comment