The narrative changed here. Through two games, the Falcons had done enough to win. Over those two games, they’d outgained the opposition by 10 yards, which didn’t indicate domination.
On Sunday, they spotted a team playing behind its No. 2 quarterback and without its No. 1 receiver a 14-point lead in a half that had Dan Quinn, the unbeaten head coach, raging along the sideline. The second half produced a performance of such power and precision as to suggest these Falcons might be more than a really good story. They might be a really good team.
This second half delivered domination of the sort seldom seen in the NFL, especially on the road. The Falcons outgained Dallas 259 yards to 52, made 14 first downs to the Cowboys’ three and outscored the home side 22-0. On a Sunday when they trailed three times by two touchdowns, the Falcons won by 11 points and had many of those who’d come to see America’s Team leaving America’s Stadium before the two-minute warning.
It wasn’t surprising that the Falcons’ defense finally got a grip on an offense working behind a backup quarterback. The stunning part was that the visiting offense overwhelmed a defense that entered the game ranked No. 1 in rush defense, No. 9 in pass defense and No. 2 overall. The Falcons converted on third down seven of nine times in the second half, and one of the non-conversions came on the final snap, which yielded a Matt Ryan kneel-down.
Afterward, Ryan – who completed 24 of 36 passes for 285 yards – was asked if, during that second half, he came to believe there was nothing an excellent defense could do to halt his offense. “When we start to run the ball and we get rolling on third down,” he said, “I know guys start feeling that way. I was feeling that way.”
As awful as the Falcons’ first half was, it nonetheless thrust them into a crucible. They were either going to clamber out or melt. “We got punched in the mouth,” Quinn said, and it took some doing to surrender four touchdowns and 295 first-half yards to a team missing Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. But Brandon Weeden’s one wobble – a terrible decision that became a William Moore interception that became a short touchdown drive – left the Falcons closer than they should have been.
And that proved more than close enough. “It was a demonstration of toughness all over the field,” Quinn said, and for once those words weren’t coach-speak. They were the absolute truth.
Quinn’s defense cheated toward the line and jammed the Dallas rushers who’d had clear paths in the first half. (You knew the Falcons had tweaked their scheme when Moore, the strong safety, tackled Joseph Randle, who’d run up the middle, for a 2-yard gain.) Cowboys coach Jason Garrett maximized resources in the first half, letting Weeden dump the ball to backs and tight end Jason Witten, but those dinks ceased working when the running threat was quashed.
Being down 28-17, the Falcons also had to find a way to score themselves. They found multiple ways. Devonta Freeman flashed around end and stormed up the gut. (Eighty-nine of his career-best 141 yards came after halftime.) Ryan kept throwing to Julio Jones –solid choice! – and the great receiver did what has become his usual day’s work. (Twelve catches, 164 yards.)
Even Quinn, who pushes his men hard, used a moment of decision to push harder. When Jones scored to bring the Falcons within 28-23, the coach had them go for two. (They made it with disdain, Ryan finding an uncovered Levine Toilolo.) The math made sense, but there was more to it than math. “I just wanted to stay aggressive,” Quinn said.
Of that harmonic convergence of a half, Quinn said: “All the little moments kept adding up.” What was left was the sensation we Falcons-watchers haven’t known since 2012, the sensation that the team wearing red might have what it takes — toughness, but not just toughness; skill, but not just skill — to go a mighty long way.
“We’re 3-0 and we’re not even playing our best ball,” Moore said, and he was half-right. They’re 3-0, yes. But that second half was as good it gets.
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