Falcons fans were finally excited for a game again this Sunday; we had Tampa Bay at home against Jameis Winston and his NFL leading 31 turnovers. That excitement quickly turned back into anger and frustration, as the Falcons reverted to their old ways in a humiliating loss.
Jameis threw two interceptions early, and the offense looked to be in rhythm, but drives kept stalling and ending in field goals as Winston kept marching right down the field. The Bucs QB has been a statistical anomaly this season. He has the most turnovers to go with the most 300+ yard passing efforts. He threw a god awful jump pass interception and also one of the prettiest balls to Chris Godwin I’ve ever seen. The Falcons defense wasn’t too terrible for the first couple drives, then everything fell apart.
Matt Ryan was on his back for most of this game. Jake Matthews had one of his worst performances as a pro, and the guard play was once again atrocious. Atlanta could not establish the run as Brian Hill was held to 14 yards on 9 carries. Qadree Ollison didn’t fare much better, gaining 20 yards on 8 carries. He did, however, find the end zone. As much as I love Matt Ryan, this was probably his worst game all year. His O-Line and the run game did him no favors, but he seemed out of sync with his receivers all afternoon. He missed a wide-open Russell Gage in the endzone after a Jameis interception, and the Falcons had to settle for 3 again.
Vic Beasley and the pass rush were MIA once again. He had 1 tackle and McKinley had 0 stats in limited action. Ronald Jones had no issue moving the ball, and even though Winston threw 2 picks, he had 313 yards and 3 scores. Chris Godwin went absolutely bonkers, catching 7 balls for 184 yards and 2 of those Winston TDs. When a team’s 2nd WR is averaging 27 yards a reception, you got issues.
The bad Falcons reared their ugly heads again, and it’s obvious this team still has a lot of problems. They have a date with the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving, followed by Carolina again before meeting the best squad in the NFC: San Francisco and former Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan. As it stands, the Falcons would pick 6th in the NFL draft. These last few weeks will be very telling for the future of this team and Dan Quinn’s job.