Written by Ernie Casanova
ATLANTA, GA— In a matchup where playoff hopes are dwindling for each team, the Atlanta Falcons squared off against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon in what was a heavy anticipated contest between a high octane offense and a very competent defense. Matt Ryan led the Falcons against the Dallas’ secondary, but seemingly had trouble getting away from the Cowboys’ front seven at that. As the contest started to pick up late, the Falcons would go on to lose to the Cowboys by a score of 22-19 and fall to 4-6, while Dallas improves 5-5 and have all but eliminated Atlanta from playoff contention.
It was very much a slow start for each team. The Falcons couldn’t get anything going early and the Cowboys took advantage of their miscues. Dallas chewed up much of the clock in the first quarter and started to get their momentum going after 34-yard pass from Dak Prescott to Ezekiel Elliot helped set up a Brett Maher 21-yard yard field goal to give them the first points of the game. It was 3-0 to end the first quarter as the Cowboys led, but in came in Matt Ryan who quickly led the team down the field in seven plays and got the Falcons in a good position to convert on a field goal of their own.
It was 3-3 the rest of the way and to end the first half, the Falcons converted on a field goal and went into the locker room at with a three-point lead. In the start of the third quarter, each team traded a couple of more field goals and had trouble separating themselves from one another. As the third quarter ended, Prescott connected with newly acquired receiver Amari Cooper for a 17 yard gain to put them in scoring position. To start the fourth quarter, Prescott used another 17-yard completion, this time to WR Cole Beasley, to set his next play up which was a four-yard scramble for a touchdown to give the Cowboys a 12-9 lead after Maher missed the extra point.
After a late interception by Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch on a Matt Ryan pass intended for Calvin Ridley, Ezekiel Elliott scored an eight-yard touchdown to increase the Cowboys’ lead by ten. It was Vander Esch’s second pick in as many games, and he surely won today’s battle against the draft pick Dallas fans thought should’ve been theirstheir’s in Calvin Ridley, who had a quiet night.
At this point, it was 19-9 and all hope of an Atlanta win or comeback started to slowly fade away. It took nine plays, 72 yards and four minutes to get another field goal as time started to become of the essence. Still, the Falcons did not falter. After a quickly forced punt for the Cowboys, the Falcons went six plays for 68 yards to score a touchdown and tie the game up, highlighted by a Julio Jones 34-yard catch and score.
The Cowboys still had 1:54 left on the clock with three timeouts, and that was all Prescott needed to get his team downfield in order to put them in field goal position. After a couple of quick completions to Micheal Gallup and Cole Beasley, Elliot put the clock to rest with his legs as the Cowboys called their second timeout with three seconds left shortly after. On to the field comes kicker Brett Maher who missed an extra point after Prescott’s four-yard scramble, but easily had no issue sinking in a 42-yard field goal to win the game.
Prescott finished going 22/32 for 208 yards and score on the ground, adding five rushing yards. While he didn’t surpass his below average total of 194 passing yards per game by much, he did just enough at the right time to push this team forward for the victory. Elliot played excellent, rushing for 122 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown. He also added 79 receiving yards on seven catches as he led the team in receiving as well. Beasley sat behind Elliot with 51 yards on five receptions as he made some crucial catches that were cognitive to the outcome.
As for the Falcons, it couldn’t have been any prettier. Ryan was sacked three times for a total loss of 17 yards and threw a late interception that helped wiped some time off the clock they could’ve used. He finished going 24/34 for 291 yards and the late touchdown to Jones, although they walked off the field leaving Dallas just a bit too much of wiggle room. Jones had another amazing outing, finishing with six catches for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Mohamed Sanu sat behind him with 56 yards and four receptions. Tevin Coleman stepped it up tonight with some physical running as he tallied up 58 yards on eight carries and three catches for 27 yards.
The Falcons, who now sit at 4-6, face an uphill battle in terms of having any playoff hopes at all. Head coach Dan Quinn wasn’t too quick to focus on the negative, instead mentioning that they will try to focus on rebounding quickly this Thursday.
“For sure it’s uphill. We know that,” mentions Quinn after the loss. “When you go into a locker room, it’s emotional and guys are upset. It will be that way tonight. We’ve got to find a way to clear it because we’ll be going back here in just a few days. That’s really the mindset to go forward again. I told the team that when your preparation, your mindset and energy, and everything is right, and it goes the other way, sometimes those are the most difficult to find the answers. You’ve got to just trust in the process, what you’re doing is the right thing and we’re going to continue to work in some of these areas that still need to improve upon. But that’s where we’re at. Honestly, all our focus, all our energy, and intent are right into this week’s preparation. That’s the best thing we can do right now.”
Still, Quinn doesn’t believe that this record defines the talent of his team.
“No, I don’t. Only because I love the fight of the guys, the energy, the attitude that goes into it,” says Quinn. “But that is where we are and that’s the hard part for us. That’s why, honestly, we’ll just go into this week and just this game and not think about the big picture and only on this game, this attitude, this mindset. That’s where our focus will lie for this week.”
Offensive tackle Jake Matthews has a much more head-on approach to all of this. “It’s frustrating. We’ve got to find a way to execute better. That’s the bottom line.”
The Falcons do have a quick turnaround this week, but it doesn’t get any easier as they will now face the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football for a primetime divisional Thanksgiving matchup at 8:20PM ET. The Cowboys also play on Thanksgiving but on the earlier side, as they will take on their divisional foe the Washington Redskins at 4:15PM ET.
