The NFL season is quickly passing by and the Atlanta Falcons
are racking up wins in every way possible. Facing their final NFC East opponent
of 2015, the team needed every inch of grit and toughness that Head Coach Dan Quinn
has instilled in them to pull off the OT win. Let’s take a look at how it all
unfolded:
1st
Quarter:
The game began with the Falcons defense challenging the
Redskins top ranked rushing attack. Dan Quinn’s defense held the Redskins and
forced a punt placing the ball in Matt Ryan’s hands.
Oh boy did we, Falcons fans, expect an ongoing of last
week’s showering of points. Not so.
Matt Ryan began one of the slower days of his career
throwing an interception on the first drive trying to force the ball to Julio
Jones.
The Atlanta defense showed up to play where the offense did
not however, limiting the Redskins to another 3 and out and forcing them to
punt.
The offense still could not get any traction themselves and
were forced to punt as well. The Redskins received the ball and began moving
the ball up the field on into the second quarter.
Falcons 0, Redskins 0
2nd
Quarter
The Redskins opened up the quarter on the ATL 15 yard-line
looking to put points on the board. Kirk Cousins capitalized on the opportunity
with a touchdown pass to tight end Derek Carrier capping off a 12-play 67-yard
drive; and suddenly the Falcons were trailing at home to the Washington
Redskins.
Optimism says that, surely, Matt Ryan would snap out of the
daze that he was in and begin to spread the ball to Julio/Roddy/Hankerson/Freeman
to boldly march up the field to tie the game. Not so much. He did, however,
orchestrate a 12-play 56-yard drive that ended on two incompletions setting up
Matt Bryant for an automatic field goal ($).
On the ensuing Redskins drive, Robert Alford came away with
a bobbling interception and Falcons fans could surely feel the onslaught coming
with the way the defense was playing.
Following the turnover, the offense moved the ball all the
way to the Washington 16 yard-line and were knocking on the door of 7 points
before Matt Ryan was pummeled by Chris Baker, fumbling the ball back to the
Redskins.
Having to come back on the field, the defense stepped up yet
again by forcing a 3 and out and giving the offense a chance to put up points
with 1:30 left on the clock before the half.
The Falcons marched the ball right back to the Washington 20
yard-line before the drive stalled with 5 seconds left on the clock. Out comes
Mr. Automatic, Matt Money Bryant. The kick went up void, sending my “$” tweet
to my drafts, and sending the Falcons into the locker room down 7-3.
Falcons 3, Redskins 7
3rd
Quarter
The Falcons opened up the third quarter down by four points
and in need of a serious offensive turnaround. To this point, the game had been
a defensive battle and the offense would need to show up in some capacity to
help the Falcons win the game. They began warming up on this drive. They went
for it on 4th and 5 AND CONVERTED.
The drive would stall at the Washington 30 yard-line and I
immediately went to my drafts to send my “$” tweet on cue. Mr. Automatic missed
again, and my tweet remained in my drafts.
The Redskins would miss field goal of their own and give the
ball back to ATL. This time, the drive would end on a Matt Bryant field goal
($) bringing the score to 7-6.
The defense, as it had done all day, showed up and forced
another 3 and out. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Falcons were
running out of time to take the lead.
Falcons 6, Redskins 7
4th
Quarter
The fourth quarter proved to be one of the more stressful
ones of the season.
The Falcons opened up with the ball at their own 32
yard-line and marched it all the way down to the Washington 14 yard-line. This
drive consisted of many Devonta Freeman scats, a Matt Ryan 10-yard run, and
even a Roddy White appearance! On 1st and 10 from the 14 yard-line,
Devonta Freeman gashed the Redskin defense for 11 yards but fumbled the ball.
The ball bounced miraculously into the end zone and Julio Jones fell on it in
the end zone for a touchdown. With that, the Falcons took their first lead of
the game with 9 minutes left. The Falcons attempted a 2 point conversion to
stretch the lead to 14-7, but failed to convert.
Washington received the ball and began moving up field. Then
one of the more questionable calls of the game happened when Robert Alford
lightly grabbed the shoulder of wide receiver Rashad Ross on a deep throw down
the middle of the field. The refs flagged Alford for pass interference flag
which moved Washington to the ATL 2 yard-line.
Robert Alford was obviously frustrated after the play and
cameras caught secondary coach Marquand Manuel having a moment with Alford,
trying to keep his head in the game. It would pay off eventually.
Matt Jones would then punch in the 2-yard touchdown and the
Falcons were now down 13-12 after a failed Washington 2 point conversion
attempt.
With 8 minutes left on the clock, the Falcons took over at
their own 20 yard-line looking to retake the lead. Matt Ryan continued his off
day by throwing a pick just four plays into the drive and raising stress levels
across Falcons nation.
The defense showed up again by holding the Redskins to
another field goal which gave Matt Ryan the chance to march up field and take
the lead with little time left on the clock. Matty Ice did just that.
With 2:38 left on the clock, Matt Ryan led the offense up
field. They never faced a 3rd down until they got to the Washington
13 yard-line. On that 3rd down play, Devonta Freeman lined up out
wide, ran a slant route towards the endzone, caught the ball, made two steps,
reached the football across the plane, fell, and dropped the ball. This looked
to be a for-sure touchdown, but it was called an incomplete pass because Freeman
did not control the ball for the entirety of the catch.
The Falcons were now facing 4th and 2 with the
game on the line. Roddy White caught a bullet pass over the middle, in traffic,
to keep hope alive. Devonta Freeman took the next touch into the end zone,
refusing to be denied, and giving the Falcons a 19-16 lead with only 24 seconds
remaining.
I, like many other fans, felt the game was over. But,
somehow, Kirk Cousins marched his team into field goal position and Washington
converted a 52-yard field goal to tie the game at 19 sending it into overtime.
Falcons 19, Redskins
19
Overtime
The Redskins won the toss and chose to receive the ball
first. They began marching the ball up the field in, what seemed like, easy
fashion. My stomach was in knots as Kirk Cousins completed passes and earned first
downs on what seemed like every play.
Then, on a throw to the left side of the field, wide
receiver Ryan Grant slipped and fell and Robert Alford was right there waiting
to clean up. He intercepted Cousins’ pass and tip toed the sideline to stay in
bounds before returning the ball 59 yards to seal the win.
Falcons win!
Falcons 25, Redskins
19
Game MVP: Robert Alford - #23 left the game with 2
interceptions including one that sealed the victory for the team. Honorable Mention: Devonta Freeman, 27 att
153 yards, 1 TD.
Next week: The team travels to New Orleans to face the rival
Saints on a short week this Thursday night. Can anyone else smell 6-0? #RiseUp
