New-look Atlanta Falcons outlast Chip Kelly’s Eagles 26-24
ATLANTA — The Georgia Dome was rocking, and this time there was a decent chance that the fan noise was legit and not piped in.
The Atlanta Falcons were playing their first game under new head coach Dan Quinn, they’d pasted Philadelphia to the tune of 20-3 in the first half, Julio Jones was in the midst of a defining performance, and the fans were giving Atlanta … a standing ovation?
It’s true. Falcons fans were standing, and for the first time in two years it wasn’t in preparation to leave the Dome in disgust. And while the Eagles got rolling and gave Atlanta a scare in the second half, the Quinn era started on a high note and the good feelings will continue for at least one week after a 26-24 victory.
The finish will be remembered for two things: Chip Kelly getting conservative and going for a field goal on fourth-and-1 in the final three minutes — and Cody Parkey missing the attempt wide right — and for a heck of an interception by Falcons safety Ricardo Allen as he fell to the ground to clinch it.
Atlanta played a nearly flawless first half, while the Eagles, by contrast, had looked befuddled, lost, discombobulated and overmatched. Ah, but that’s why games have two halves: to make sure the first one isn’t a fluke.
Eagles mastermind/supervillain-in-training Kelly devised a far more effective plan for the second half. The Eagles opened the second half with three touchdowns on three possessions. Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford finished the game 36-of-52 for 336 yards and two touchdowns, and the majority of those yards came in the second half.
“I think the difference between the first half and the second half is that we were much more efficient on first down in the second half,” Bradford said. “We got things going, and once we got things rolling, we kept it that way.”
Philadelphia failed to score a fourth consecutive time only when Parkey pushed a field goal wide … that, after Kelly got uncharacteristically cold feet. It would prove a decisive blow; after the Eagles held the Falcons to three-and-out, Philadelphia quarterback Sam Bradford had two minutes to go 85 yards … and ended the game by throwing a tipped interception into the hands of Allen.
Bradford, playing in his first game since October 2013, had precautionary X-rays taken after the game, though he didn’t disclose what was X-rayed. “I took a few hits. They just wanted to get something checked out,” he said. “I’m all good. They said everything was all good.”
In Atlanta’s locker room hang two signs reading FAST & PHYSICAL and ALL ABOUT THE BALL. They’re coachspeak, plain and simple, and Quinn is a master of coachspeak himself, dispensing cliches (“We knew it was going to be a battle … they’re such a great-coached team”) like a 20-year vet. But here’s the thing: with Atlanta, for one game at least, the rah-rah slogans actually worked.
Atlanta kept its collective heads while the Eagles were mounting their comeback, even though this bore a disturbing familiarity … the Falcons get out to a fast lead, then watch as the defense allows the other team hope, then a toehold, and finally a beatdown. This time, though, when Atlanta surrendered the lead on a Ryan Matthews run with 8:37 left in the game, Ryan brought the Falcons into position for a Matt Bryant field goal that would prove to be the deciding factor.
“There’s ebbs and flows to every game,” Ryan said after the game. “You have to have the same mindset every time you step onto the field, and that’s to go out there and score points.”
Special credit has to go to Julio Jones, who saved a million fantasy teams on Monday night. Jones caught 9 passes on 11 targets, totaling 141 yards and two touchdowns. He’s faster than anyone bigger and bigger than anyone faster, and if he’s not the best receiver in the NFL he’s in the conversation.
This was a team that was one play from a Super Bowl just two years ago, a team that’s gone 10-22 in the two seasons since. The team had flat-out given up on former head coach Mike Smith, he of the socks-with-sandals and awkward cursing on “Hard Knocks.” Quinn has instilled a new sense of pride in this team, and even though this is a patchwork offensive line and an untested defense, Atlanta has the look of a team that could compete in the still-woeful NFC South.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter.
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