Falcons Survive Shootout, Win 39-32

Coming off their worst performance of the season, the Falcons rebounded in a huge way, defeating the Bengals 39-32 to improve their record to 5-2, 3-0 at the Georgia Dome. Perhaps all the talk during the week from Chad Ochocinco lit a fire under this team because they came out in unusual fashion. A typically slow, matriculating offense, transformed into a high-powered explosive machine throughout the first half, as Mike Mularkey displayed a sense of urgency in his play-calling, for perhaps the first time this season.

Aside from a holding call early in the game on Harvey Dahl, the Falcons offensive line went the rest of the way without a penalty, while mauling the Bengals front seven to generate holes for Michael Turner, who ran for 121 yards with 2 touchdowns on 23 carries. The Bengals defense was also held without a sack in 33 dropbacks by Matt Ryan, who torched the Cincinnati secondary for 299 yards. After Ochocinco mailed the Falcons defensive backs derogatory shirts during the week, and yapped about the performance he would have, it was Roddy White who stole the show, recording 157 yards in the first half alone, and finished with 201 and 2 touchdowns. White took a short catch and run 46 yards on his first reception of the game, then beat Adam “Pacman” Jones and Leon Hall deep for a 43 yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter.

> Find Atlanta Falcons jerseys & hats online through Pro Football Fans for all your team gear!

As the Falcons dominated through the first two quarters, taking a 24-3 lead into halftime, they came out flat to begin the 2 nd half and let the Bengals right back into the game. After a Bengals field goal and a quick Falcons punt, Cincinnati took advantage of a depleted pass defense unit, who were without Dunta Robinson, Sean Weatherspoon, and Thomas DeCoud who left in the 1 st quarter after a head to head collision with running back Cedric Benson. This unit would allow Carson Palmer and the Bengals wide receiving trio of Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens, and Jordan Shipley to combine for 25 catches and over 300 yards. Terrell Owens would conclude a 6 play drive with a 19 yard touchdown, as Palmer completed all 6 of his pass attempts. The Bengals defense quickly responded, as Matt Ryan made his only mistake of the game, throwing an interception to Leon Hall. 3 plays later, Jordan Shipley took William Moore out of his shoes on a slant route, taking it 64 yards for the score. The very next play on offense for Atlanta was even worse, as Pacman Jones stripped Roddy White and took the fumble 59 yards for a touchdown. Within a matter of two minutes and twenty-nine seconds, the Bengals managed to go from down 24-6, to up 25-24.

The wheels had completely fallen off for Atlanta, who allowed their propensity to give up the big play turn into what could have been a loss of epic, and season changing proportions. But the Falcons were able to regroup, as seen time and time throughout the season, scoring touchdowns on back to back drives to keep the lead for good.

With 3 of their top cover men out, it is understandable that Atlanta would be vulnerable to the pass, but Carson Palmer was making it look too easy in the 2 nd half. Despite the big lead, and the lack of coverage on defense, it never appeared that the Falcons went into “prevent” mode on either side of the football. The back to back turnovers which ultimately gave the Bengals their only lead of the game, were on an interception deep to Michael Jenkins, and a fumble by Roddy White on a first down pass attempt. In the past, the Falcons would play clock management, resorting to a lackadaisical and predictable style of offense. Mularkey, perhaps sensing the uproar after his performance last week, jump started this group into shape and allowed Roddy White and Matt Ryan to shine on a weak Bengals secondary. The two minute span that Atlanta let this game get out of control is disappointing, but was not due to the Falcons taking their lead for granted or playing to avoid losing. The hopeful returns of Dunta Robinson, Thomas DeCoud, and Sean Weatherspoon following the bye week should allow Atlanta’s defense to return to early season form. Sitting at 5-2, tied with the Giants for best record in the NFC, the Falcons now find themselves as one of the premiere NFC teams, as Green Bay, Minnesota, and Dallas have all been snake-bit by injury. The NFC is absolutely wide open this year, as previous elite teams have failed to grab hold of a weak conference, and new teams are rising to the top of the pack. A relatively easy schedule and clutch performances late have allowed Atlanta to take advantage of the opportunity bestowed before them.

Top 5 Questions Heading Into the Bye

• Can the Atlanta Falcons get healthy? This has not been a major issue until recently, as several key players on defense have gone down. These injuries have not been very significant in terms of length, and it is important that the Falcons return to 100% following the break, while keeping their list of players on injured reserved one of the shortest in the league.

• Can Michael Turner last the entire season? Turner is on pace to finish right around 300 carries, after an off-season where he rededicated himself to conditioning. He appears ready to continue handling a heavy workload, after nagging injuries prevented him from doing so last season.

• Where is the pash rush? The Falcons have not been able to consistently get after the quarterback as many people thought they might this season. John Abraham recorded two sacks last week against the Bengals, but has disappeared on many occasions, as has other defensive end Kroy Biermann. Getting back to full health should improve Atlanta’s coverage, thus resulting in more coverage sacks, and the opportunity to go with more blitz packages.

• The real Mike Mularkey? It would be nice to say that what we saw against the Bengals was not a fluke, but the past shows us that it likely is. Despite putting up 39 points and making it look easy, don’t be surprised to see Mularkey revert back to his old form with a more conservative game plan, emphasizing a run first approach while controlling time of possession.

• Can the Falcons handle the upcoming schedule? Tampa Bay is no longer a push over, and Carolina is still a pesky division opponent that is more than capable of running the football. With 4 games remaining against these two teams, plus tough home games against Baltimore, New Orleans, and Green Bay, and road games in tough buildings at Seattle and St. Louis, the Falcons will have to up their game if they wish to build upon their early success.

By Kevin Sirkin
ProFootball-fans.com Atlanta Falcons Correspondent