Monday was n’t a win for the Falcons , but their Week 3 loss to the Chiefs felt a lot different than their Week 1 loss to the Steelers .
The club entered the locker room with a 14-10 lead at the end of the first period, but injuries , unintentional errors and an incredible non -call from the ref were difficult to overcome .
There are no moral victories in the NFL, but this was about as close as it gets in this contest . The Falcons have demonstrated, among other things, that they are capable of competing with the best teams in football.
Kirk Cousins and the offense were comfortable at times, even without an effective running game . It ‘s clear that the old signal caller continues to get hotter and hotter with each passing week , and his performance on Sunday may have been his most impressive of the season .
Injuries have really taken a toll on the Falcons , though . Losing Drew Dalman and Kaleb McGary in the first half was brutal . The running game suffered , but more importantly, Cousins was n’t protected like he would have been with Dalman, McGary and an attacking offense . It ‘s likely that the veteran quarterback was lucky to escape Friday night unharmed , as he was hit in the back by numerous punches .
The Falcons gave up just 10 points in the first half , with some key moments down the stretch . We ‘ve learned that this Falcons defense is vulnerable on the ground . The start of the second half was dominated by the Chiefs , who controlled time and the game perfectly . The Falcons also failed to put much pressure on Mahomes throughout the game , a consistent theme through the first three weeks .
However , where Atlanta ‘s defense has succeeded is in big moments . They regularly made big stops on third – and – short , limiting the Chiefs ‘ offense to several red – zone field goals and even a turnover , when Justin Simmons intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the end zone on the game ‘s opening drive .
I rarely make comments , but this time it was too much . The second quarter of an hour was clearly in favor of the home team , and in one of the most important moments of the match , the referees blew their whistle , as they often do when the Chiefs defense is on the field , overlooking an obvious pass at the pass ban that would have put the Falcons on a new cycle of falls right in front of the goal .
There ‘s an interruption every weekday and twice on Saturday . This is a trend for the Chiefs that is frankly unpleasant , but when Patrick Mahomes is on the opposing bench , you have to assume you ‘re not just playing Kansas City .In fact , the Chiefs got a pass ban against the Bengals last week that ultimately won them the game , and it was far less serious than that play on Kyle Pitts . We also know that the refs do the trick after the match.
Regardless , it ‘s unclear whether the Falcons would have won the game if the right , obvious call had been made . What we do know , however, is that Raheem Morris has the talent to compete with any team on any given Sunday . If their situation continues to improve , they will have a great opportunity to end their postseason drought and maybe even make something of a play in the playoffs.