17-0 is the new 28-3. So is 24-7.
The score doesn't matter when the Atlanta Falcons are in the same building as Tom Brady.
The Falcons looked to be playing some of their most efficient football of the season in the first half. Matt Ryan was chipping away at the Buccaneer secondary and matriculating the ball down the field. The offense was in rhythm, but the defense was most impressive. The defense was swarming and suffocated Tom Brady and the Buccaneer offense into four punts on their four possessions. The Falcons stormed to a 17-point lead and took that into the locker room.
But this has been the story of the Atlanta Falcons and Sunday was more of an all-too-familiar trend for this coaching regime.
This is the same team that made NFL history earlier this season as the first team to lose twice in one season while a 15-point-plus lead in the fourth quarter. In this regime, the Falcons have blown leads of more than 10 points seven times, and I think we all remember the most painful of those memories. The pain of that February night resurfaced when Tom Brady came to town today and we can add another one to that list of Falcon stumbles. Atlanta managed to blow that 17-point lead that they held until the four-minute mark in the third quarter.
The Falcons were playing without their best player, with star receiver Julio Jones sidelined for a second consecutive week with a hamstring injury. That didn’t seem to affect this passing attack because Matt Ryan was playing some of his best football of the season. He completed passes to 11 different receivers and finished his day 34/49 with 356 yards and three touchdowns. Calvin Ridley replaced Julio nicely and he had himself a fantastic afternoon reeling in 10 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown.
So what how did this happen?
Well the defense fell apart, but with the type of offensive playmakers the Buccaneers can boast you had to think they would wake up eventually. So where did it all go wrong for the Falcons?
Look no further than the porous rushing attack that I discussed last week. The ineffective ground game reared its ugly head once more in today’s embarrassing result. In total, the Falcons only managed 37 yards on 13 carries. That is simply inexcusable. Todd Gurley carried the ball only once for negative yardage. The inability to run the football meant the Falcons only held possession for 10:57 compared to the Buccaneers who held it for 19:43. Allowing a potent Buccaneers offense to control the clock is what breeds blown leads. I could say it has to be better, but after 14 games it is what it is. Dirk Koetter has shown an inability to be effective on the ground and that has doomed this offense too many times to count.
The season marches on next Sunday when the Falcons travel to play the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. You can hope that Matt Ryan continues to play at the level he displayed this afternoon, but it will be no more than an audition for the next regime. The Falcons then have another opportunity to finally get a win against Tom Brady. But if there were any doubts that the Falcons need a change, look no further than this afternoon’s result.
