Falcons christen a new country to lose in

MADRID — The Falcons lost again Sunday, although this time in a new language.

Los Falcons no son buenos.

The NFL’s emissaries in the league’s second game in the Spanish capital city, the Falcons played the foil for the Bengals in a 34-17 defeat, dropping their season record to 3-6 and their record in international games to 2-4.

“Not good enough,” coach Kevin Stefanski said.

They let Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase go wild. They committed stupendously ill-timed penalties. They didn’t get enough from quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

And they sacrificed a home game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the process.

Playing as the home team in iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, they didn’t come within five kilometers of the championship standards of the venue’s residents, Real Madrid.

“We were not at our best,” Stefanski said. “And if you’re not at your best against a good team, you’re going to lose.”

The Falcons had more than enough reason to be far closer to their best than they were.

They had lost three of their previous four, including an embarrassing shutout loss to NFC South rival Tampa Bay this past Sunday. Stefanski spoke on Wednesday about how the offense was “excited about getting back to being who we are as Falcons.”

And then his team unwittingly followed through, giving the Spanish a crash course in what the Falcons are:

A consistently underachieving team that is on a collision course with a ninth consecutive losing and non-playoff season.

The two-game winning streak that leveled the Falcons at 2-2 is history. They’ve lost four out of the past five. Vowing to get rid of the bad taste in their mouths after the Buccaneers loss, they instead took another deep swig from the same bottle of swill.

They are not a good team.

Here’s who they are:

A team whose defense got outschemed and out-talented.

On Cincinnati’s first touchdown, a 47-yard touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Chase, the Bengals exploited safety Xavier Watts’ positioning as cornerback A.J. Terrell lined up opposite Chase.

“We knew their safeties like to play a little shallow, and so we wanted to take a shot over the top in that position,” Burrow said. “Who better to throw it to than (Chase)?”

Terrell may be the Falcons’ top cornerback, but he was apparently exactly whom the Bengals wanted to see lined up against Chase.

“When Joe saw A.J. Terrell on me, he got pretty excited,” Chase said.

In the game-deciding first half, when the Bengals took a 24-10 lead, Burrow was rarely pressured and completed passes for first downs and big gains with mechanical efficiency.

“We knew what kind of game plan they were going to play against us, and they did exactly what we were expecting,” Chase said.

Said Stefanski, “There’s things that we can do better schematically. They made some plays. We didn’t.”

This is also who they are:

A team that beats itself.

With Cincinnati playing so efficiently on offense, and also considering the Falcons have been spiraling, they knew they had to play a focused, clean game.

And yet they committed a season-high 12 penalties. They thwarted themselves at the wrong time over and over. After both teams scored touchdowns on their opening drives, the Falcons kept up their momentum and had first-and-goal at the Bengals’ 7-yard line, but a holding penalty on left guard Matthew Bergeron and a false start by right tackle Jawaan Taylor pushed the Falcons back to the 17.

A potential touchdown was reduced to a field goal.

“You’ve got to take the practice field to the game field,” Stefanski said.

Also, kicker Nick Folk missed again, his fifth errant field-goal try this season in 18 attempts, this after missing three tries over the three previous seasons. Monday, Stefanski said he was “very confident” in Folk.

Sunday, asked if he is considering making a change at the position, Stefanski deflected.

“I’m very focused on this game, obviously,” he said, adding that he expects to Folk to make those kicks, as does Folk.

Which was not “No, I’m not.”

This is also who they are:

A team whose quarterback promised to “shake back” after a four-interception game in Tampa and then completes 20 of 31 passes for 162 yards with a touchdown and interception in a largely uninspiring performance.

Additionally, Penix was saved from a pick-six interception by a drop, did throw an interception late in the fourth quarter and again was not effective in the face of pressure. He did use his legs better, gaining a career-high 50 rushing yards, and made some throws that showed his obvious talent. But it wasn’t nearly enough.

The Falcons are now 3-6, only in the playoff picture because they are in the dreadful NFC South.

They’ll now play Kansas City at home and the Chiefs can expect a supportive crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Falcons fans have stayed away in large numbers, and who can blame them?