EAGLES 27, FALCONS 14: FALCONS RECAP

A quick look at Sunday’s 27-14 loss to the Eagles that dropped the Falcons to 4-3.

HERO

Brian Westbrook. The Eagles running back returned after missing time with broken ribs. He ripped through the Falcons’ defensive line and secondary with 167 yards rushing on 22 carries (7.6 average) and a touchdown. He also caught six passes for 42 yards.

GOAT

Lawyer Milloy. The Falcons safety hit Eagles tight end L.J. Smith on an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter. The pass already had hit the back of Keith Brooking’s helmet and fell to the ground, then Milloy knocked Smith from the game with a concussion. The 15-yard unnecessary roughness call gave the Eagles the ball on the 19-yard line. Six plays later the Eagles kicked a field goal to go ahead 20-7.

KEY PLAY

Trailing by 10 points late in the third quarter, the Falcons had a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. The Falcons were the beneficiaries of Lito Sheppard’s pass interference penalty. After a Michael Turner run gained 1 yard, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan tried to throw a fade route to Roddy White in the corner of the end zone. The pass was too high and too short, however, and was intercepted by Sheppard. Instead of pulling within three points, the Falcons remained 10 points behind.

KEY CALL

The officiating crew took away any chance of a Falcons comeback. They ruled that Adam Jennings muffed a punt that the Eagles recovered with 2:22 left in the game and the Falcons trailing by six points. Replays appeared to show that Jennings did not touch the ball. The call effectively ended the game —- the Eagles scored a touchdown two plays later. The Falcons could not challenge the play because they had no timeouts left.

KEY STAT

As much as Matt Ryan was pressured by the Eagles, he still threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 23-of-44 passes.

BIG HIT

Eagles defensive end Trent Cole hit Matt Ryan on a rush in the first quarter, causing an incomplete pass. He drove Ryan into the turf on the play and was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty. Ryan appeared shaken up but got up and did not miss a play.

THREE THINGS WE LEARNED

1. Mama said there would be days like this. Everyone expected the Eagles to blitz Matt Ryan early and often. They did, but mostly in the second half when the Falcons rookie quarterback was harassed and struggled.

2. The Falcons are not going to win without effective rushing from Michael Turner. The Eagles made it a priority to stop the running back, and they did, limiting him to 58 yards, 22 coming on one run.

3. Roddy White has come a long way. He caught eight passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. However, he has to play every down. His lazy route in the first quarter led to an interception when Asante Samuel jumped the route.