Third-and-19 from the 12.
That’s what most NFL defensive coaches would call a favorable situation.
But the Falcons couldn’t come up with a stop against the great Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday. The Patriots converted, went on to open a big lead and then held on for a 30-23 victory over the Falcons on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
“We’ve got to make sure when we are playing zone defense that we play with good eyes and good vision,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.
The Falcons made it interesting in the closing minutes, but a comeback fell short at the Patriots’ 10-yard line on a fourth-down incompletion to 36 seconds remaining.
The Falcons, once considered Super Bowl contenders, dropped to 1-3, while the Patriots improved to 4-0. If New Orleans beats Miami on Monday Night Football to improve to 4-0, the Falcons would be three games behind in the NFC South just four games into the season.
And the odds are against that Super Bowl trip, too.
Since 1990, only nine percent of teams — 22 of 258 — have started the season 1-3 and advanced to the playoffs, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The 2011 Denver team, which was led by Tim Tebow, was the last team to accomplish the feat.
The jury had been out on the Patriots, who had raced out to a 3-0 record against the likes E.J. Manual, Geno Smith and Josh Freeman, who’s been benched in Tampa Bay.
This was the Patriots first test against a marquee quarterback in Matt Ryan, but the Falcons defense could not hold up against a power-running game and slew of Brady passes to the likes of Kenbrell Thompkins and Julian Edelman. And Ryan couldn’t pull out another miracle finish.
Ryan’s record dropped to 34-6 at the Georgia Dome. With a victory he would have tied Brett Favre for most wins by a quarterback in his first 40 home games.
The Falcons did another second-half flop.
Over the last six games, they have established a pattern of playing strong in the first half before fading. Over those last six games, including the playoffs, the Falcons have been outscored 110-46 in the second halves.
This game followed that pattern.
After the score was tied 10-10 at halftime, the Patriots dominated the second half, outscoring the Falcons 20-3, before Atlanta scrambled to tack on 10 late points.
In the third quarter, after an exchange of possessions, the secondary was under siege. Brady had completions of 10, 18, 17 and 34 yards to take a 13-10 lead on Stephen Gostkowski’s 22-yard field goal.
Late in the third quarter, the Falcons appeared to have the Patriots stopped, but on a third-and-19 from New England’s 12-yard line, but Brady found Thompkins for a 26-yard gain. The Falcons rushed just three players and dropped eight.
Brady was never pressured and waited for Thompkins to clear before throwing a dart. Safety William Moore was called for a hit to his head to move the ball to the Falcons’ 47.
“I was just playing football,” said Moore, who’s expecting a fine from the league office. “I was just playing the ball. I actually tried my best not to hit a defenseless player and I tried to be as legal as I could.”
On the next play, Tampa Bay-castoff running back LeGarrette Blount busted loose for a touchdown run and control of the game, 20-10, 23 seconds into the fourth quarter.
“You’ve got a gap to be in and one person missed their gap,” Moore said. “We didn’t execute on that play.”
The Patriots added an 18-yard touchdown pass to Thompkins and a 49-yard field goal to make it 30-10 with 6:23 to play.
The Falcons added an 11-yard touchdown pass from Ryan to Gonzalez and after recovering an onsides kick, Bryant added a 45-yard field goal.
After a failed onsides kick, the Falcons defense forced the Patriots to a fourth-and-1 at Falcons’ 37. They knocked back Brady for a loss and got the ball back for the offense.
On first-and-10 from the Falcons’ 38, Ryan promptly tossed a 49-yard bomb to Jones to move down to New England’s 13. After two incompletions, Ryan dumped a short pass off to Rodgers for a 3-yard gain. On fourth-and-7 from the 10, Aqib Talib patted away a pass intended for Roddy White in the end zone with 36 seconds left.
The Falcons wasted a career performance by Gonzalez, who had 12 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns with 2:00 to play. His previous career-high was a 147-yard effort.
“We had chances, we really did,” Ryan said. “We just didn’t make the plays. I guess, we’re all trying to find out what the reason is that we haven’t been as successful.”
The Falcons got off to a promising start, as they opened the game in their no-huddle offense, with Jeremy Trueblood starting at right tackle for the second consecutive game. Lamar Holmes, who the Falcons selected in the third-round of the 2012 draft, was removed from the starting lineup. He started the first two games at right tackle and the third game at left tackle for an injured Sam Baker.
On third-and-2 from the 28, Ryan drilled a pass to tight end Gonzalez for a 25-yard gain. The Falcons marched down to the Patriots’ 6-yard line over the next six plays. But after two incomplete passes, the Falcons settled for Matt Bryant’s 23-yard field to make it 3-0.
The defense opened with a stop of Brady and the Patriots’ offense.
Baker killed the Falcons’ second offensive possession with two penalties. Running back Jacquizz Rodgers’ 18-yard run on a draw play was nullified by a holding penalty on Baker. After one play, Baker was called for a face-mask penalty for his hands going to the face of a player. The Falcons couldn’t dig out second-and-24 hole and were forced to punt.
New England, perhaps because Brady was not yet confident in his receivers, decided to run the ball with some power. After a 24-yard gain on a pass play, the Patriots ran eight straight running plays before Brady tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Matthew Mulligan. Gostkowski’s extra point made it 7-3 with 6:24 left in the second quarter.
The Falcons answered with a drive of their own, but their red zone woes continued. Smith elected to go for a fourth-and-2 from New England’s 7, but Ryan missed an open Roddy White. Baker left the game during that drive with an apparent left knee injury.
“ I just missed the throw,” Ryan said. “ It was a bad throw. Roddy ran a good route and I made a poor throw.”
New England worked out of its field position hole when the Falcons missed a sack opportunity and Moore misplayed a deep pass to Kenbrell Thompkins, who hauled down the pass for a 49-yard gain.
The Falcons defense bowed up and held the Patriots to Gostkowski’s 48-yard field goal to make it 10-3.
The Falcons got the ball back with 3:22 left in the half. With the Patriots concentrating on taking away wide receiver Julio Jones, Ryan started leaning on Gonzalez. Snelling and Rogers also helped to power the drive.
Snelling picked up a first down on third-and-1 at New England’s 24 with a 3-yard run. After a New England timeout, Ryan tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez, who put his patented spin move on New England safety Steve Gregory at the 11 and then powered his way in for the score. Bryant’s kick made it 10-10.
“This is new territory for us,” Falcons free safety Thomas DeCoud said. “We’re a resilient team and we’re up to the challenge. Although we have some injuries, we are a veteran team as well. We have the guys and the leadership to get this job done.”
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