Finally, the Falcons finish: 'We had to stop the bleeding'

Admit it: you did, too.

Heck, that familiar Falcons Feeling started even before the game. The Packers announced they would be without wide receiver Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery in addition to their top two running backs, and it set up as the kind of game the Falcons definitely should win, which means it was the kind of game they often lose.

Tell me you couldn't see it happening: Aaron Rodgers comes into the Dome half full of Packer Backers and wins with no running game and a bunch of no-name wide receivers. The Falcons lose this game and Dan Quinn's talk about his team's "brotherhood" would be drowned out by the chorus of I told-you-so's from those skeptics waiting for the 2016 Falcons to fade just like the 2015 Falcons.

But then something unexpected happened.

Instead of folding after Reed’s blunder, the Falcons overcame it. Instead of throwing another critical pick, Ryan threw the winning TD Pass. Instead of allowing Rodgers to make more sandlot plays over those final 31 seconds, or ending up on the wrong end of some shady penalty or no-call, the Falcons finished.

Finally.

“We had to stop the bleeding,” Falcons defensive end Dwight Freeney said.

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The Falcons had lost two games in a row after leading in the second half. Both times Ryan threw the kind of poorly-timed, traumatic picks that had come to signify his worst games.

Also, the Falcons had quietly stewed about the late pass-interference-penalties-that-weren’t against Julio Jones in both losses.

“We were bleeding because we had two really bad losses,” Freeney said. “What I say ‘bad,’ I mean as in I feel like maybe a few calls here and there it could have turned the other way. So it was important for us to get that victory and stop that bleeding and hopefully get things running in the right direction.”

It wasn’t easy for the Falcons because Aaron Rodgers made it hard. A few readers scoffed when I wrote that Rodgers is a better QB than Philip Rivers. But I’d rather have Rogers even in a down year by his standards.

You saw why at the Georgia Dome. Time after time Rodgers sidestepped rushers to make plays. He’s still got otherworldly pocket awareness, a lightning-quick release and a big arm. Rivers puts up numbers, but Rodgers is a winner.

The Bears tried to bring pressure through the middle against Rodgers in Week 7 only to see him get outside and make plays. The Falcons seemed focused on keeping Rodgers from getting outside so he weaved his way through the middle—or still got outside.

“It was rough because you expect him to go one way, and then you get in the game and he goes a different way,” Falcons defensive end Adrian Clayborn said.

“It’s hard to contain a guy who has no rules on where he can go,” Freeney said.

Coach Dan Quinn said the Falcons went “deep into the bag of tricks” to slow Rodgers after halftime. They seemed to hit on a good formula: use more defensive backs to limit Rodgers’ options, use Vic Beasley as a spy, move defensive linemen around, use more line stunts.

And yet Rodgers still found a way to make plays on Green Bay's final touchdown drive. Sometimes he ran when nothing was there, other times he shuffled just a few feet this way or that before unloading one of those sizzling passes.

“He’s just a great player,” Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant said. “That’s what he does. That’s what makes their offense go. He creates. Overall, as a defense, we did solid. We did enough to win.”

They did it even after you started getting the feeling again that they wouldn’t. Finally, the Falcons finished.