Atlanta Falcons Drop Their Sixth Straight To Seattle Seahawks

The Atlanta Falcons dropped their sixth straight game today when the Seattle Seahawks pulled a close, hard-fought game out. Like so many of their games this season, this game was a tale of two halves for the Falcons.

Spirts haven’t been high around this team since the six-game losing streak began over a month ago. Rumors of Dan Quinn’s demise have been circling this team for the last month, and now, injuries have hit the Falcons, knocking Matt Ryan out of today’s game after sustaining an ankle injury in last week’s loss against the LA Rams. With the Seattle Seahawks coming to town, Matt Schaub was the starting quarterback for the Falcons, an omen of how this season has gone so far.

The game started with the Seahawks taking the opening drive down the field only to be stuffed by the Falcons to hold Seattle to three points. These days around this team, that is a victory. The defense stayed strong, forcing a punt on the next Seattle drive. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense would eventually begin to chip away on the defense, scoring 24 points in the first half.

Matt Schaub and the Atlanta offense got off to a slow start, unable to keep pace with Seattle in the first half. Schaub led a few good drives that ended up being wasted by a pair of Matt Bryant misses in the first half. To be fair, both attempts were beyond 50 yards, however, there was a time when Bryant was a guarantee from almost any distance. The Falcons offense also produced a couple of turnovers in the first half, an interception and a fumble to end the half.

Coming out for the second half, down 24 points, the Falcons began to show some fight that wasn’t evident in the first half. On the opening drive, Schaub led a touchdown drive to get the Falcons on the board. After forcing a punt on Seattle’s first drive of the second half, the Falcons tacked on a field goal to inch closer.

It was the Falcons third drive of the second half that proved to be the killer. Schaub had led the Falcons to the red zone. After completing a pass to Devonta Freeman inside in the ten-yard line, Freeman fumbled the ball, turning possession over to Seattle. The Seahawks would drive down to score another field goal, virtually putting the game out of reach. The Falcons would score one more touchdown and a field goal to get the score to 27-20, the final score.

It was a hard-fought game from the Falcons, who looked like a different team in the second half. It was the first half that would doom this team to their sixth straight loss. The offense looked good and explosive, however, being down 24 points will make you have to force the issue on offense. The defense looked incredible, even producing TWO sacks in the second half. If the Falcons had put together two halves like the second half, the result could have been a different result. Unfortunately, the Falcons remain inconsistent and sloppy, and that is why they are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Dan Quinn watch has officially begun.