In the Mike Smith era, the Falcons have experienced a lot of good times and a few bad times. This year has been a struggle as they came into the game against the Detroit Lions with a four-game losing streak. The game against the Lions was played in London, which meant the game was played at 9:30 a.m. eastern time.
And the Falcons looked like the 2012 version of the team, jumping to a 21-0 lead in the first half. But the Lions (literally) roared back and scored 22 unanswered points to come away with a 22-21 win.
The Lions started their comeback in the opening series in the third quarter when Matt Prater kicked a 22-yard field goal. On the Lions next series, Matthew Stafford threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate on cut the Falcons lead to 11. The touchdown pass by Stafford was on a third and 25 play.
Prater kicked another field goal on the Lions next series to start the fourth quarter, and that score was made possible because Matt Ryan threw an interception to Cassius Vaughn on the prior series to put the Lions in scoring position.
After forcing the Falcons to punt, the Lions put together a 69-play drive which led to a Stafford 5-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick. The Lions went for two points, but Stafford could not connect with Tate near the end zone.
When the Falcons got the ball back, they looked to run out the clock, and it looked like that was going to happen after getting a couple first downs. But a holding penalty by center James Stone and a dropped pass by Julio Jones on third down stalled the Falcons drive and they had to punt the ball away with less than two minutes left. That was enough time for Stafford as he was able to get the Lions to the Falcons 30-yard line with four seconds remaining. Prater kicked the field goal, missed it, but got another chance the officials called delay of game on the Lions. Prater was able to take advantage of the second try to complete the comeback.
The Falcons were a different team in the second half compared to the first half. The jumped to a 21-0 lead, and it started on the opening drive when Ryan threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Freeman. Ryan threw another touchdown pass late in the first quarter when he found Bear Pascoe in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard pass. The Falcons added to their lead late in the second quarter when Steven Jackson scored on a 1-yard run.
This blown lead by the Falcons is the worst in team history. It was due to bad clock management, inopportune penalties and a costly turnover. A win would put right the Falcons in the mix for the NFC South race. But they now drop to 2-6 have now lost five games in a row. The Falcons have a bye next week before going back on the road to face Tampa Bay.
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