Atlanta Falcons defeats the Oakland Raiders 23-20; Recap and Analysis

Matt Bosher and Matt Bryant reacts after the game winning field
goal to give Atlanta a 23-20 win.
(AP-Rich Addicks)

The Atlanta Falcons entered the game with a (5-0) record after beating the Washington Redskins 24-17, which was their best start in franchise history and returned home with an opportunity to earn another victory before their bye week. Their opponent, the Oakland Raiders entered the game off their bye week with a (1-3) record and was looking to earn their first win on the East Coast for the first time since 2009. With a victory, Falcons head coach Mike Smith would tie former Falcons coach Dan Reeves for the most victories in franchise history under his tenure with (49) total wins. Also, the Falcons were looking to finish a perfect 4-0 against their AFC opponents for the first time in a regular season. As the game began, the Falcons struggled from the start. Atlanta won the coin toss and received the ball first and after their first play of the contest was a (25) yard reception from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones, their (3) plays, (58) yards drive came to a shocking end as Matt Ryan threw his fourth interception of the season after Joselio Hanson jumped a route intended for Harry Douglas, which was Oakland's first defensive interception of the season. On the Raiders first drive, they would turn the ball over after running back Darren McFadden fumbled after a Jonathan Babineaux tackle, which Falcons corner back Robert McClain would recover to place the Falcons at the Raiders 32-yard line. On Atlanta's second possession, their four-play, (7) yards drive ended with a rare Matt Bryant missed (43) yard field goal attempt. After the Raiders second possession ended with a punt, the Falcons would again start another possession with a big play after Matt Ryan threw a (26) yard reception to Roddy White and an extra fifteen yards was added after a roughing the passer penalty. This Falcons possession would end with Ryan throwing his fifth interception of the season on a pass intended for Julio Jones as safety Michael Huff would earn his first takeaway of the year. The Raiders would capitalize on their second forced turnover of the game as Oakland took a (8) play, 65-yard drive which took (4:24) and ended with Sebastian Janikowski nailing a (52) yard field goal to give Oakland a 3-0 lead with (:24) remaining in the first quarter. In Atlanta's first possession of the second quarter, the Falcons finally capitalized on a (10) play, 80-yard drive which took (5:33) and ended with a Matt Ryan touchdown pass to Roddy White to give the Falcons a 7-3 lead with (9:51) remaining in the quarter. Oakland would respond with another scoring drive on a (10) play, 76-yard drive which took (5:40) as the Falcons defense made a defensive stand as the Raiders had to settle for a (22) yard Sebastian Janikowski field goal after driving down to Atlanta's 1-yard line to cut the deficit to 7-6 with (4:11) remaining in the second quarter. The Falcons next offensive possession ended with yet another costly turnover as Matt Ryan threw his third interception of the first half to Tyvon Branch on a pass intended for Tony Gonzalez and the Raiders would have the ball deep in Atlanta territory with (2:44) remaining. Oakland would waist little time as they capitalized on a two-play, (28) yard drive which ended with a Carson Palmer touchdown pass to Denarius Moore to give the Raiders a 13-7 lead with (1:50) remaining in the first half and would take the lead into halftime as the Falcons trailed at the break for the first time in the 2012 season. As the third quarter began, both the Falcons and the Raiders first offensive possession would end in a three and out. After the Falcons defense halted the Oakland offense again, their next possession would end with them capitalizing on a (9) play, 47-yard drive which Matt Bryant nailed a (41) yard field goal to trim Oakland's lead to 13-10 with (5:06) remaining in the third quarter. On the Raiders next offensive possession, the Falcons defense would make a game-changing play as John Abraham would force a fumble after sacking Carson Palmer and defensive end Ray Edwards recovered the ball and returned it down to Oakland's (2) yard line. The Raiders responded with a good defensive goal line stand and forced the Falcons to a field goal attempt which Matt Bryant would nail to tie the game at 13-13 with (2:31) remaining in the third quarter. After the score, both the Falcons and Raiders would fail to get a great offensive drive going to take the lead; however, Oakland's third possession of the fourth quarter would be huge in the game's final results. The Raiders offense finally started a late drive to potentially take the lead and even getting as close as the Atlanta (30) yard line; however, the Falcons defense made the play of the game with less than three minutes remaining. On third and six at the Falcons 28 yard line, Asante Samuel jumped a route intended for Denarius Moore and returned it (79) yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 20-13 lead with (2:50) remaining in the game. The interception was Samuel's first in his career as a Falcon and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Falcons. However, Oakland would respond again with a (8) play, (80) yard drive which ended in a Darren McFadden two-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 20-20 with (:40) remaining. Oakland left too much time on the clock for Ryan and the Falcons. Matt Ryan conducted yet another late drive in which he was (5/6) for (43) yards as the Falcons drove to the Raiders (40) yard line and with six seconds remaining, Matt Bryant would nail a game-winning (55) yard field goal to give the Falcons a 23-20 win and Atlanta improved to 6-0. Now, I will give my players of the game, things we learned from the victory and things which should be adjusted heading into Atlanta's bye week. 

PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

JOHN ABRAHAM:

John Abraham's forced fumble in the 3rd quarter
(AtlantaFalcons.com)

Usually, I would have selected a offensive player; however, one of the biggest reasons why the Falcons defense kept the Raiders from pulling away on Sunday was the play of veteran defensive end John Abraham. Abraham finished the game with (5) tackles, (3) sacks, and a forced fumble, which proved to be one of the game-changing plays  as the Falcons would tie the game and have a chance to win in the final period. Sunday's game was his best game of the 2012 season and leads the team with (6.0) sacks through the first six weeks. Abraham is still one of the best pass rushers in the NFL today and when he's effective, he can change the momentum of a game like he did on Sunday. Abraham's ability to sack the quarterback and also force the opposing quarterback into costly turnovers. When he's able to cost havoc in the backfield, the Falcons defense are dangerous! He's one of the key component to the Falcons being successful on defense. After the bye, we could see his game become even more effective with the return of defensive tackle Corey Peters returning to the Falcons lineup. 

ASANTE SAMUEL:

Asante Samuel fourth quarter INT for a touchdown
(AtlantaFalcons.com)

Asante Samuel, who was acquired via trade during the off-season have brought a new attitude to the Falcons defense and they began playing much more aggressive on the field this season and has resulted in Atlanta's defense ranking the best through six games in forcing turnovers with (17). In a crucial third down situation, at the Falcons 28 yard line, Asante Samuel jumped a route intended for Denarius Moore and returned it (79) yards for a touchdown to give the Falcons a 20-13 lead with (2:50) remaining in the game. The interception was Samuel's first in his career as a Falcon and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Falcons. The critical play saved the Falcons from giving the Raiders a chance to take a late lead and also placed the Falcons in great position to win the game. Samuel has always been recognized as an aggressive corner back who can make plays such as the interception late in Sunday's game. 

Positive Notes From The Victory:

Matt Ryan continues to deliver in clutch situations:

Despite having one of his worst starts of his career, when it came time to place the Falcons in position to earn another clutch victory, Matt Ryan delivered yet again. On the final possession of the game, Ryan completed five of his six passes to advance the Falcons to the Oakland 40-yard line, where Matt Bryant would close out the win for Atlanta. For the third consecutive week, Matt Ryan led a fourth quarter comeback and helped his team win another critical game. Sunday's victory against the Raiders was Ryan's (19th) comeback or fourth quarter victory in his young career. Over the past three weeks, the Falcons have played less than spectacular but this team is resilient and when it's time to secure a victory, Atlanta seems more poised than ever to finish their job. Matt Ryan also have an outstanding career of 29-4 in the regular season at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons have continued to deliver in the fourth quarter when it matters and Sunday was another prime example. Matty Ice continues to deliver in late game situations in the regular season and this will be critical to Atlanta's success in the second half of the season. Matt Ryan has more fourth quarter comebacks/ game winning drives than 

Atlanta's defense continues to impress each week:

Jonathan Babineaux strips the ball from Darren McFadden
(AP- John Bazemore)

Despite the Falcons offense having one of their worst efforts of the season, the defense kept the game within reach and made big plays to help their offense pull off the ugly victory on Sunday. As I mentioned earlier, the efforts of John Abraham's three sacks and critical forced fumble in the third quarter allowed the Falcons offense to score points and get back into the game. Ray Edwards, who have struggled most of the season, made a smart play by picking up the fumble and placing the Falcons in goal line position, which eventually led to the game-tying field goal. Jonathan Babineaux may not have made much noise as far as on the stat sheet but he was disrupting the flow of the Raiders offensive line and Vance Walker also had a monster game as they both caused havoc against Oakland. The Falcons defensive line forced Darren McFadden to (70) yards on (27) carries!! That's a tremendous stat when you're only surrendering (2.5) yards per carry and that forced Carson Palmer to beat the Falcons in the air. Asante Samuel, of course, made the biggest play of the game with his interception for a touchdown late in the football game. Samuel looked good in coverage all season long and that was his first interception and he couldn't have picked a more fitting situation to make the biggest impact on a football game. The Falcons defense did a very good job despite being on the field for (36:26) of the game due to early offensive turnovers. It wasn't a perfect effort from the defensive unit; however, Atlanta did enough to find a way to win the game. 

Things To Improve During The Bye Week:

OFFENSE:

Running Game:

Michael Turner rushes against the Raiders on Sunday
(AP- John Bazemore)

One of my biggest concern with the Falcons offense is the lack of a running game during game day. Many people are criticizing Michael Turner for his inability to break the big run on offense; however, Turner needs a certain amount of carries in order for him to get going on the ground. Michael Turner is not the same, explosive running back who can use his speed to break through opposing defensive lines. Turner needs a full back or a small hole in order to make the big runs because once he gets a decent lane, he's still one of the toughest running backs in the NFL to bring down. You have to establish a rushing attack to make your offense unpredictable because at the moment, many teams are expecting Matt Ryan to throw the ball to his explosive receiving core and their defensive schemes are limiting the effective impact from Roddy White and Julio Jones. Atlanta must re-establish a balanced offense because that's the one advantage of having a physical runner like Michael Turner due to his ability to allow the Falcons to dictate the tempo as well as your time of possession throughout the game. In Sunday's contest, Turner broke a few runs of (9)  yards rushing early in the game but the Falcons offensive line failed to give their rushers any extra push at the line and usually results in runs of one to three yards. The Falcons offensive line must improve on run blocking because they're failing to provide lanes or the right blocking scheme to establish the ground game for Turner or Jacquizz Rodgers. 

Offensive Play-calling:

Harry Douglas reception vs the Raiders
(AtlantaFalcons.com)

Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has impressed so far with his new scheme and Matt Ryan is  adopting well to the game-plan; however, the scheme must continue to have balance and not become one-dimensional. For example, the Falcons made a few questionable decisions with their play calling such as throwing on 1st and Goal from two yards out late in the third quarter. From the incomplete pass, Atlanta ended up getting two chances to run the ball; however, both attempts failed. The Falcons also have to improve on their decision making on third and short plays. On the Falcons first quarter drive which ended in a missed field goal, Jacquizz Rodgers received a pitch on 3rd and 1, which was for a loss. The Falcons should have either ran a quarterback sneak or even allow Turner to get the extra yard for you. A similar situation occurred on 3rd and Goal from Oakland's one yard line when Jason Snelling tried to score a rushing touchdown, that was another situation where you should consider allow Matt Ryan to sneak in the end zone instead of attempting a similar play that was unsuccessful earlier in the game. Atlanta must make a few adjustments on their play call in different situations and start to provide a more balanced and effective scheme whenever the Falcons are on offense. Another component of the offense which was absent was the screen game. Koetter must apply some more screen passes and allow the offensive line to adjust to establish excellent blocking on plays such as the screen. It's early in the season but the Falcons must adjust the plays to best fit the talent in order to keep the defense honest. 

DEFENSE:

On Sunday, the Falcons defense vastly improved their efforts against the run; however, Oakland had a few explosive plays on the ground including a 20-yard reverse to receiver Darius Heyward-Bey and a 43-yard run by backup running back Mike Goodson, which are two of the nine explosive plays the Oakland Raiders were able to get. The Falcons must address the run defense issue because it's becoming a major problem for their defense. In the last three weeks, the Falcons allowed Oakland, Carolina, and Washington to carve their defense up for over 100 yards and is a huge reason why their offense was able to compete in those games. One major concern is the play of middle linebacker Akeem Dent. Dent is in his second year in the NFL but became the starter after Curtis Lofton left during free agency and Lofa Tatupu suffered a season-ending injury. Throughout the first six weeks, he wasn't on the field much due to the nickel packages; however, the previous two games, Atlanta ran a 4-3 package and he received more playing time, in which he struggled. Dent's biggest issue is over pursuing on running plays in which he'll try to play too aggressive and it causes him to be blocked by a lineman and allow the rusher to break for a decent gain, which is hurting the Falcons defense. Atlanta's passing defense has done a pretty good job this year; however, if you're allowing the running back to have a huge impact on the game, you'll become vulnerable to both phases of the opposing offense and that must improve before we head to Philadelphia after the bye week. This problem could be fixed with the return of defensive tackle Corey Peters in two weeks as well, but Atlanta must find a way to reduce the amount of rushing yards they are surrendering per game. 

CONCLUSION:

It wasn't a pretty win by any means; however, Sunday's game was another testament to the Atlanta Falcons resiliency. The Falcons are (6-0) for the first time in franchise history and they will now approach the bye week and it couldn't have come at a better time. After the bye week, the Falcons have three competitive games in a row: Philadelphia, Dallas, and New Orleans. Atlanta will be tested throughout the second half; however, this team is poised to accomplish great things in 2012. Until the week of the Eagles game, FALCONS RISE UP!!!