The Bears began the fourth quarter with the ball in possession and a very comfortable 24-point lead in their grasp. For some reason, the Bears came out passing despite their large lead, and that ultimately would backfire on Cutler as he watched his pass batted into the waiting arms of Kroy Biermann. Though he was almost caught from behind, Bear-man managed to get it across the goal-line for the Falcons' first touchdown of the game.
The Falcons would go for two, but pressure in Matt Ryan's face led to failure in that endeavor. Still, the Falcons showed life as they cut the deficit to 18 points. The Bears got the ball back, and the Falcons defense continued their fourth quarter success by forcing a three-and-out. Could there be a tiny glimmer of hope amidst this disappointing game?
Well, the offense took over and- surprise, surprise- the Bears' defensive front was right in the grill of Ryan yet again. On third down, Chicago would record its fifth sack of Ryan on the day. Todd McClure, get well soon.
The defense stepped up yet again, it just ended up being a case of too little, too late. Vance Walker had a nice sack during that stand, but everything beyond that point is pretty much not worth mentioning. The front four actually had a pretty good game today and got some good pressure. Where the real problem lay were coverage and poor tackling in the secondary.
The offense has shown some flashes of their potential at times today. On the next offensive possession, Ryan connected with Julio Jones for an 18-yard gain that very nearly went all the way for a touchdown. Jacquizz Rodgers worked himself into the passing game with a couple of nice catches as well. The Falcons would probably have called for more deep passes, but Ryan has simply had no time to throw today.
Ryan finished the day with 31 completions for over 300 yards, Turner had 100 yards on the ground, and Roddy White racked up eight catches for 61 yards, but still there was not an offensive touchdown to be found. The silver lining right now is that both the Saints and Buccaneers also lost their first matchups of the season, for whatever that's worth.
Remember, the Falcons lost their season opener in 2010 and that season turned out ok, right? This is a talented team. The Falcons just need to fulfill that potential.
For more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. For more on the Bears, check out Windy City Gridiron.