Falcons coach Mike Smith said he was prepared to go into “attack mode” late in the first half against the Lions but decided to sit on the lead once the first-down play failed.
An interception by cornerback Robert Alford gave the Falcons the ball at their 18-yard line with 1:14 until halftime, two timeouts and a 21-0 lead. Quarterback Matt Ryan dropped back to pass on first down before scrambling for a six-yard gain. The Falcons allowed the clock to run before handing off to Antone Smith for the final play of the half.
“That was a decision that I made after the first down,” Smith said Monday. “We went in and said we were going to throw the ball on first down (and) if we had an efficient play and got the ball down field, we were going to get into our attack mode. But we didn’t. Our quarterback felt pressure (and) he had to run.”
Smith also cited a lack of confidence in the pass protection for the decision. He noted that the Bears got to Ryan when the Falcons tried to run their hurry-up offense the previous week. The Lions also have a very good pass rush and Smith said the Falcons were calling protections in the huddle that were “different than what do in two-minute situation.”
“If we had gotten the ball down the field (on first down) and we were in a more advantageous field position, we were going to jump into attack mode,” Smith said. “When we didn’t, I made the decision we were going to take it into the locker room.”
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