FLOWERY BRANCH – A week after playing a nearly flawless fourth quarter, the Falcons did the opposite against the Washington Football Team on Sunday.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith had been through the game film severak times to make sure he objectively assessed the 34-30 loss, which dropped the team to 1-3 on the season.
“Give Washington credit,” Smith said on Monday. “They made the plays when they needed to. We didn’t. There were plenty of opportunities there. Every week is obviously a new adventure. We feel like we are making progress in certain areas. Obviously, it wasn’t good enough.”
The Falcons held a 30-28 lead, but couldn’t run out the clock when they got the ball with 3:52 left. Against the Giants, they closed out the game with two scoring drives, a defensive stop and a game-winning field goal.
“Same old narrative, but it didn’t hold up true last week,” Smith said about the Falcons closing out games. “But again, we made it hard on ourselves. We’ve got to close that game out. We know why we didn’t, but you’ve got to give Washington credit. We’ve got to improve and we’ve got to do it in a hurry.”
On first down, Washington’s Jonathan Allen busted through the line and dropped running back Mike Davis for a 3-yard loss. On second down, Davis rushed for 4 yards. On third-and-9, Smith called a screen pass that picked up 5 yards.
“I’ve got to do a better job there,” Smith said. “Hindsight is 20-20. There are a lot of decisions being made. When you get in that situation in the 4-minute (offense), how you want to approach it. ... Every scheme is up for debate, but again when we are running a package play. We got a certain look and we went to it.
“We didn’t execute very well and so we loss three yards. You get the second down, you can take a calculated risk right there. If I had to do it all over again, I’d certainly call something different. I called the screen on third down. They made the play and we didn’t.”
Washington got the ball back, after a 45-yard punt, at their 24 with 1:47 left to play. The defense couldn’t come up with a stop like they did against the Giants.
Former Falcons back J.D. McKissic scored on a 30-yard catch-and-run with 33 seconds left to play. He capped a 10 play, 76-yard drive. Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who played at Collins Hill High, hurt the Falcons with his ability to scramble and extend plays.
“Sure, we have to keep these quarterbacks contained,” Smith said. “You have to give Washington credit. We knew going in that he did a good job extending plays. We have to be better in our rush lanes and defensively not trying to do anything extra. That’s what it comes down to.”
Safeties Duron Harmon and Erik Harris both had dropped interceptions earlier in the game.
“Those are game-changing plays,” Harmon said on Monday. “We lost by four. If I make the interception grab, that’s four points off the board right there and that’s 30-30.”
After McKissic’s score, the Falcons got in position to toss a Hail Mary from the 37-yard line with a second left.
“We can execute that play a lot better,” Smith said. “That wasn’t executed really well. That’s what I lose sleep over at night. That starts with me.”
What’s more troubling for Smith is the Falcons rushing attack has not been consistent. They have rushed 94 times for 347 yards (3.7 per carry) and a touchdown.
Davis has 49 rushes for 151 yards (3.1 per carry) and no touchdowns. Cordarrelle Patterson has 27 rushes for 119 yards (4.4 per carry) and a touchdown. Wayne Gallman, who made his Falcons debut on Sunday, had six rushes for 29 yards (4.8 per carry).
Gallman had a 13-yard run early in the fourth quarter that he could have scored on if the back side of the play was blocked properly. But Washington linebacker Cole Holcomb defeated his block and made the tackle.
Smith would not answer if he was ready to move some carries from Davis to Patterson. He said it takes all 11 players to make the rushing attack work.
“We’ll get this thing going, I’m confident of that,” Smith said. “We need to get this run game going, but it takes everybody.”
The Falcons are set to play the New York Jets (1-3) at 9:30 a.m. Sunday in London.
“We adjusted our schedule,” Smith said. “Both teams are flying through the night on Thursday night. It’s become pretty standard. I don’t think the teams are doing the week long bowl game any more for this trip. Both teams have to handle it the same way.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC
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Atlanta Falcons Schedule
New York Jets vs. Falcons in London, Oct. 10 at 9:30 a.m.
Bye Week
Falcons at Miami Dolphins, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.
