The Falcons lead the Bears 9-3 at the half, but the deficit could easily be much more. Numerous penalties and miscues cost the Falcons opportunities to put more points on the board in a half where they outgained Chicago by 94 yards and possessed the ball for 20 minutes of play to just 10 minutes for Lovie Smith’s team.
Matt Ryan has been locked in thus far, throwing for 159 yards on 14-of-19 passing. He also threw a touchdown to Roddy White that was called back because of a penalty on tackle Tyson Clabo. Also, Michael Jenkins failed to haul in a pass in the end zone on the same drive
Meanwhile, the Bears are languishing in the secondary. Starting cornerback Nathan Vasher was inactive for today’s game with a wrist injury. And today’s starters, Charles Tillman and Trumaine McBride, have also left the game with injury. Both players are questionable to return. Expect Mike Mularkey to continue to use Matt Ryan as the primary weapon of attack.
Also, kudos to the Falcons fans for showing up and making some real noise. There are a few empty seats here at The Dome (far less than the Detroit or KC games), but the atmosphere has been electric. The crowd was largely responsible for a critical delay of game penalty on the Bears’ offense in the first half.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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