The Atlanta Falcons are used to dominating opponents at home. That didn’t happen this week, as Atlanta suffered its first home loss of the year, losing a fourth-quarter lead and going down to defeat 24-20 to the Denver Broncos.
“My hat goes off to Coach [Mike] Shanahan and his staff,” said losing head coach Mike Smith. “They were the better the team. We have a lot of things we have to clean up.”
The Falcons set themselves up nicely for what would have been their seventh victory of the season, taking a 20-17 lead with 10:49 to play in the fourth quarter on a 29-yard touchdown run from Michael Turner. But Denver quarterback Jay Cutler was having none of that, leading Denver down the field for the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing possession. He came up with two big throws to help Denver convert on two third-and-long situations. With the home crowd noise reaching its highest level of the day on third-and-9 from his own 17, he hit Brandon Marshall deep for a 47-yard gain. Then on third-and-goal from the Atlanta 9, he rolled to his right and threw a bullet to Daniel Graham in the back of the end zone to give Denver the 24-20 advantage.
“That was very crucial,” said Smith. “You’ve got to win on third down.”
The Falcons had their chances on what would wind up being their final possession. They moved the ball to the Broncos’ 37-yard line with 2:15 to play. But Michael Turner was stuffed for no gain on first down, and Tyson Clabo was called for holding on second down, forcing Atlanta into second-and-20. Still, Atlanta had a chance. On third-and-18 Matt Ryan hit Roddy White in stride in the end zone, but the normally sure- handed wideout couldn’t haul in the pass. And Ryan overthrew a well-covered Michael Jenkins on fourth-and-18 to effectively end the game with 1:06 remaining.
The Denver offense started the game much like it ended it. Mike Shanahan called for passes on seven consecutive plays, and Cutler completed six of them. Then they mixed it up by handing the ball off to Peyton Hillis on the Falcons’ 7-yard line, and Hillis found the end zone to give Denver the 7-0 lead.
The Falcons took control afterward, shutting out the Denver offense by twice stopping it on third downs of 2 yards or less. The Atlanta offense drove into Bronco territory on its next four possessions, but only managed one touchdown on a 9-yard score from Michael Turner. Jason Elam checked in with two field goals from 36 and 46 yards. And a drive late in the half stalled on Denver’s 43.
“Points are good, don’t get me wrong,” said Ryan, “But we strive to get touchdowns. I’d like to have a couple of throws back.”
The Broncos scored the only points of the third quarter, as Hillis scored for a second time from 2 yards away.
Cutler finished the game with 216 yards passing, completing 19 of his 27 passes; Marshall was his receiver of choice, as he caught six balls from Cutler for 89 yards. With the win, the Broncos assured themselves of retaining the lead in the AFC West.
Ryan was 22-of-30 for 250 yards and an interception. White eclipsed the century mark by totaling 102 yards receiving, and Michael Turner rushed for 81 yards and added two touchdowns on the day. The Falcons fell to 6-4 on the season. They host the Carolina Panthers next week in a crucial NFC South matchup.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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