Atlanta Falcons Quiet The Storm In A Massive New York Storm
By W. M. Lawson
The Atlanta Falcons (4-3) found a way to beat the New York Jets on the road Sunday in a massive downpour. It wasn’t pretty, but it was needed.
The three game slide the Atlanta Falcons just ended on the road was a steep and perilous one. Two consecutive losses at home, and a blow out on the road in New England, had the Durty Birds teetering towards irrelevancy and bottom dwelling. That’s not hyperbole. A loss in New York Sunday would have been devastating for season goals and team psyche. They avoided that today.
It was apparent early that this game was going to be ugly. The weather was abysmal, and let’s face it, our beloved Atlanta Falcons aren’t built for those types of games they feature on NFL Films from the 1970’s. You know. The games where the weather is as much a part of the game as the officials or play-making. With that voice intoning, “But on this day from the frozen tundra of Green Bay”, etc. You know what I mean.
Atlanta is built for a fast track, where they can go down hill with misdirection and layers. No. They aren’t built for this type of game, and it showed early. Matt Ryan had trouble with hand-offs all day, dropping 4 and losing 2 to fumbles. Perfectly placed passes were dropped by the usually sure handed Sanu and Hooper. It was ugly, but they persisted.
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The genius that is Matt Bryant showed again today. When the Offense would stall near the red zone, and while New York’s Kicker missed a couple, the sure footed Bryant went 4 for 4 in a maelström. Always impressive. Always clutch.
The Defense deserves some credit, too. After an abysmal opening drive where the Jets basically skipped down the field, the Atlanta Defense bucked up a couple of times, got the ball back, and gave the struggling Offense a couple of more possessions. It turned out to be enough.
Look. It can’t be overstated. In the National Football League, you have to win your home games. The Falcons lost two games at home, and have to make those up somewhere on the road. Today they got one back, and that is a big deal.
At (4-3), they still are behind in the Division, but are still within reach, and are a part of the conversation. To that end, the next game at Carolina is even more important than usual. A win there, on the road, and the Falcons will have won a road Divisional game, and will have made up for the two home losses.
If they were to follow that up with a home win against Dallas, a (6-3) record would erase the entire three game losing streak, and put Atlanta in playoff perch.
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The Falcons have a lot to work on. But this win today was big. We might look back and say it was season saving.