No, this can’t be happening again.
This has to be the shared thought across the city of Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. That, and pure, red-hot anger.
Only a week after blowing the 20-0 lead in Dallas, the Falcons found a way to do it again. This time, the Falcons led the Bears by as many as 16 points. Once again they had a win probability approaching 99 percent, according to ESPN. Somehow, Atlanta found a way to throw it all away and move to league worst, 0-3.
Leading 26-10 to start the fourth quarter, the offense went completely silent and was outscored by a whopping 20 points. Throughout the final quarter, the defense could not get a stop when it counted. The offense could only gain a measly 31 yards, which all came on the game’s final drive that ended in a Matt Ryan interception that essentially sealed the game.
This defense looked great in the first three quarters of play, but turned into a sieve when it mattered most. All the unit had to do was get a single stop, but for whatever reason the defense proved incapable of doing that. This secondary has been dreadful. Add Nick Foles, with his three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and Mitch Trubisky as the next quarterbacks that this unit let run wild this season. It’s not like this Bears offense has proven to be anything special, but the Falcons still couldn’t get a stop.
Once again, this shouldn’t be the storyline.
Atlanta came out hot, just like it did last week. But this team is clearly missing that finishing instinct. Instead of crediting the fantastic day that Calvin Ridley had, we’re back to talking about this team dropping another game it shouldn’t have.
According to Mike Conti, the Falcons have now blown leads of 25, 20, 17 (twice), and 16 points and lost during the tenure of Dan Quinn. Those are five of the 13 largest blown leads in franchise history. This is a trend that has to stop.
This is a culture problem.
Don’t get it confused. This team has talent. But I can’t believe that it’s being maximized.
This certainly is not the way that Arthur Blank wanted to celebrate his birthday. But, I think he knows what needs to be done. I don’t know how there could be any way around it at this point. After two utterly humiliating losses, it is time for the Dan Quinn era to come to a close.
