The biggest game for the Atlanta Falcons since their last playoff appearance in 2017 had it all.
A rookie quarterback making his first career road start in Michael Penix Jr. A 10-point Atlanta halftime lead. A late rally to force overtime. Eventually, it added up to a costly 30-24 road loss to the Washington Commanders on “Sunday Night Football.”
After Penix tied the game with a fourth-and-goal strike to Kyle Pitts, Atlanta (8-8) got the ball back with 40 seconds left with a chance to gain control of the NFC South.
Penix completed a 25-yard pass to Darnell Mooney on first down with 33 seconds left to advance Atlanta to Washington’s 44-yard line. The Falcons then wasted 16 seconds of clock, while head coach Raheem Morris still held two timeouts, before snapping the ball again.
Eventually, Riley Patterson missed a 56-yard field goal as regulation expired, before the Falcons fell in overtime.
The question for Morris on Monday was, “Why not use a timeout to save time on that final drive?”
“Would I like that back? Obviously, because it didn’t work,” Morris said in his press conference on Monday.
“But in hindsight, if we can just hit another route and we get a chance to have the timeouts to use, to utilize the whole field on the next throw, then we have a chance to get in better position and make it an easier field goal to end it there in regulation. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way for me. … As simple as you make it seem, it’s not.”
Penix completed 19 of 35 passes for 223 yards, a touchdown and an interception but was outdueled by Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels (227 passing yards, 127 rushing yards, three TDs, one pick).
Ultimately, Atlanta’s chances of ending its seven-year playoff drought took a major hit.
If the Falcons had held serve on Sunday, they would have just needed to beat the Carolina Panthers at home in Week 18 to clinch the division. Now, Atlanta must win and have the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-6) lose at home against the New Orleans Saints — a game in which Tampa Bay has opened as a two-touchdown favorite.
For Morris and company, everything counts on the rival Saints to pull off a monumental upset.
“At 1 o’clock on Sunday, I don’t think you can (worry about that game),” Morris said of the Tampa Bay-New Orleans matchup. “I think you can only handle what you can handle, control what you can control. So, I think as a professional and what I owe to Arthur Blank and this organization and fan base is to go out there and be completely locked into what we’re doing, trying to win versus the Carolina Panthers.”
–Field Level Media
