Eleven months after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee, former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray made his season debut and marched the Cardinals (2-8) down the field with just over two minutes remaining to set up a Matt Prater game-winning 23-yard field goal as time expired to hand the Falcons the 25-23 defeat.
The loss extends Atlanta’s (4-6) losing streak to three games, and six of its past eight, heading into a bye week. The loss also drops the Falcons to 1-4 on the road this season.
Making his second start of the season, Falcons QB Taylor Heinicke was 8 of 15 for 55 yards and a touchdown before suffering a hamstring injury late in the fourth quarter which prompted the return of Desmond Ridder, who finished the game 4 of 6 for 39 yards with a 9-yard rushing touchdown that gave the Falcons the 23-22 lead with 2:33 left to play.
The Falcons offense came mostly from the ground game with 184 total yards coming out of the backfield. Bijan Robinson finished with 95 yards rushing on 22 carries, including a 5-yard touchdown run that capped off a 13-play, 76-yard drive that gave the Falcons a 14-6 lead late in the second quarter.
After being sidelined with a groin injury in Week 9, Drake London made his return to the offense and lead all Falcons receivers with 3 catches for 36 yards on 4 targets. Taking into account the three sacks for -24 yards, the Falcons only managed 70 total yards through the air.
In his return after missing 335 days, the 26-year-old Murray was 19 of 32 for 249 yard and one interception. He added 6 carries for 33 yards and one touchdown, a six-yard scramble as time ran down in the first half that cut the Falcons lead to 14-12.
Cardinals tight end Trey McBride lead all receivers with eight catches for 131 yards. It was the first 100-yard receiving game for an Arizona tight end since 1989.
While the Atlanta defense had two sacks of Murray and linebacker Nate Landman intercepted an off-the-mark Murray pass in the middle of the third quarter, it was the inability to bring the Cardinals quarterback down on the final drive in the fourth quarter that ultimately lead to the loss.
With under 2 minutes remaining, facing 3rd & 10 from their own 42, Murray danced around in the pocket for a moment before heading backward, managing to evade multiple defenders while running to his left before reversing back to his right and dashing up the field for an impressive 13-yard run that extended the drive and ultimately setup the game-winning field goal.
If there is a silver lining to all this, it’s that the Falcons have lost the past three games by a combined 10 points. They are still only one game out for the lead in the NFC South
With a bye week on the horizon, the Falcons will get back on the field on Nov. 26 as they host rival New Orleans (5-5) with the possibility to gain some ground in the division with a win.