Falcons’ defense couldn’t protect another lead, gave up big 54-yard play in OT

The Falcons’ offense went cold, but somehow managed to get a lead with 2:45 to play.

Get a stop and go home with a 24-19 victory.

But Bryce Young put together a nine-play, 65-yard touchdown drive and tossed a two-point conversion to put the Panthers ahead 27-24. The Falcons forced overtime with a 45-yard field goal, but were not up to the task in the extra period.

“It definitely wasn’t enough,” said Falcons linebacker Ronnie Harrison, who led the defense with 10 tackles. “Whatever the stats were. However it looked from the outside, it wasn’t enough. We’ve got to give more effort. Make more plays. We’ve got to win. We got to find a way to win.”

After the Falcons couldn’t move the ball on offense in overtime, they punted to the Panthers.

Then tight end Tommy Tremble, who played at Wesleyan and Notre Dame, got loose for 54 yards to get them into field goal range.

It was the longest catch of his career. Nickel back Billy Bowman and Harrison missed tackles on the play.

Harrison said he was trying to punch the ball out, instead of making a tackle.

Harrison, a converted safety, who has taken over for J.D. Bertrand at inside linebacker, was having a strong game. In addition to the tackles, he had a sack, a tackle for loss, two quarterback hits, a pass breakup and special teams tackle.

Harrison was a third-round pick by Jacksonville back in 2018. He played safety in 10 games with the Colts last season. He was signed by the Falcons and converted to linebacker while spending some time of the practice squad.

“It really has not been too hard,” Harrison said of the move. “(Defensive coordinator) Jeff (Ulbrich) does a good job. Coach Ruh (Michael Rutenberg) does a good job getting me ready and prepared for each week. It hasn’t been too hard.”

There’s more traffic that Harrison has to fight through.

“Just playing closer to the line,” said Harrison, who played at Alabama. “Dealing with the bigger guys, the (offensive) lineman and stuff like that. It’s not too much different. They do a good job mixing up the defenses and putting me in position to make plays. I like it.”

The Falcons sold out to stop the Panthers running game.

They held the Panthers to 67 yards on 25 carries. But with the run under control, the Falcons, with two of their top three cornerbacks out (Mike Hughes and Dee Alford), couldn’t stop the pass.

Young passed for a career-high and franchise record 448 yards on the Falcons’ depleted secondary. The Falcons had five sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

“We knew coming into the game they were going to test us out on the ground,” Harrison said. “So, we have to come in and stop the run. That was a big focal point. Once we got them into the situations on pass downs, we were going to have to bow up and do what we had to do. We just didn’t get it done today.”

The defense had the right mindset.

“We all were just telling each other, we’ve got to get that stop,” Harrison said. “We’ve got to get the ball. Got to find a way to get off. Just encouraging each other. No one was getting down. We’ve got to make the play. We’ll do that in the future.”

The Tremble play was a backbreaker.

“Give more effort on those plays,” Harrison said. “When it gets late in the game, you’ve got to go even harder. That’s what we’ve got to focus on.”

Rookie outside linebacker James Pearce Jr. had a sack and three quarterback hits.

“I feel like we are close,” Pearce said. “We are right there. Me, the rook, still trying to figure it out. Still trying to become a leader. Still with the guys expecting a lot of me and me playing a lot of snaps.”

Pearce would have like the unit to close the game.

“I feel like we’ve got the right call,” Pearce said. “We have to execute. No mental fatigue. Get off the field when we need to get off the field. Make plays when you need to make plays.”

Pearce was told about Young’s record passing yards.

“We were trying to get him on the ground,” Pearce said. “Do our job. Stop him.”