In the second quarter, it was more of the same for both teams: more dominance on both sides by the Falcons, and more mistakes and penalties by the Titans. Honestly, at some points it looks as if the Titans have already given up. But for the Falcons, it's been a display of sheer excellence thus far.
Just how dominant have the Falcons been on defense this half? Well outside of their final drive, the Titans have yet to run a single play on the Falcons side of the field. Chris Johnson has been limited to only 12 yards on nine carries. Multiple tackles behind the line of scrimmage combined with some pretty steady pressure on Hasselbeck has kept them in third-and-long situations all day.
On offense, both possession found their way into Tennessee territory, but a couple of miscues prevented any chances of scoring a TD. With two minutes left, the Falcons were driving very quickly and appeared as if they would put this game out of reach early. However, a well thrown ball to Tony Gonzalez was dropped (his first pass in a long time), and the Falcons would elect to punt.
Then with about one minute left in the half, Hasselbeck essentially check-downed the Falcons to death and ultimately got into Rob Bironas field goal range. His kick would hold true, and the Titans would finally put some points on the board and end the shutout.
Still, defensively this is probably the best we've seen this unit play all season (outside of perhaps the Colts). If the Falcons can score early out of the gate in the next half, we should see Atlanta put this game out of reach.
For more insights about the Titans, check out the SB Nation blog Music City Miracles. For more insights about the Falcons, check out the SB Nation blog The Falcoholic.