It hasn’t been a disaster per se, but not too much has gone right either for the Atlanta Falcons during their Thursday night tilt against the New England Patriots.
Through two quarters of play, the Falcons trail Tom Brady and the Patriots by a score of 14-3. The Falcons starting offensive looked fairly solid. Matt Ryan completed 8-of-16 passes for 73 yards; Michael Turner rushed for 32 yards on 8 carries; and most importantly, the Falcons avoided the injury bug for the first 60 minutes.
Despite only mustering three points, the Falcons did have two other successful offensive series. The first was with Matt Ryan still under center, but Matt Bryant missed from 47 yards out on his second attempt of the evening (he was true from 48 yards on his first kick). The second came near the end of the half. With Ryan on the bench, John Parker Wilson threatened to get the offense back in FG range, but the drive stalled inside the Pats’ 40 yard line and ended with Parker Wilson’s interception on 4th and 15.
As for the Falcons’ defense? Well, not much positive to say on that front. Tom Brady carved up the Falcons for 85 yards on 10-of-12 passing and a touchdown. Fred Taylor chipped in with a 28-yard rushing score to extend New England’s lead to 14-3.
Join fellow Falcons fans for a running conversation during the second half over at The Falcoholic.