In order to win a NFL game a team has to excel in all phases of the game; offense, defense and special teams.
The Falcons failed to execute in those phases during overtime against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field and as a result, they lost 15-9 in their season opener.
The Steelers won the game thanks to a 50-yard touchdown run by Rashard Mendenhall which was a backbreaker for the Falcons because they were able to hold the Illinois alum to 70 carries for 20 yards.
The Falcons won the coin toss before overtime started but could do nothing on their offensive drive due to two offensive holding calls on Ovie Mughelli and Sam Baker. That’s was disappoint for Atlanta because they only committed one penalty for 5 yards in regulation. The Steelers got the ball on the 50-yard line thanks to a short Michael Koenen punt and Mendenhall scored on the first play in the Steelers offensive series.
This game was close to not going into overtime, as Jeff Reed was ready to kick a 40-yard attempt with 39 seconds left. But the kick went wide right and the game went in to extra time tied at nine.
The Steelers had to rely on their defense and running game as Ben Roethlisberger was serving his suspension. Dennis Dixon, who took Roethlisberger’s place finished the day 18-of-26 with one interception. But it was Reed was the offensive MVP for Pittsburgh was Reed who scored all the Steelers points before the Mendenhall TD in overtime. Reed kicked a 52-yarder in the first quarter to give the Steelers the 3-0 lead and kicked another FG in the third tie the game at six and another in the fourth to give the Steelers the 9-6 lead.
Despite retuning almost all starters from last season, the Falcons offense could not get anything going all game long. The main reason was the running game could not get going as Michael Turner carried the ball 19 times for 42 yards.
Because the running game was nonexistent, Matt Ryan had to throw the ball more, finishing the game 27-of-44 with one interception in the fourth quarter which led to the Reed missed field goal.
While the loss was a tough one to swallow for the Falcons, there were some bright spots. Roddy White had a career day, catching 13 passes for 113 yards. Tony Gonzalez caught two passes for 35 yards, which his important because Gonzalez eclipses the 1,000 receptions mark for his career.
Matt Bryant who has caught some criticisms during the preseason, did finish his day knocking in 3-of-4 field goals, including a 49-yarder in the second quarter, a 39-yarder in the third and 23-yarder in the fourth to tie the game at nine.
Defense was for the Falcons led by Curtis Lofton who led the Falcons with 11 tackles and one sack. Sean Weatherspoon who was making his NFL debut was second in tackles with eight. Mike Peterson had the Dixon interception and there was also good production from the defensive line as John Abraham and new starting defensive end Kroy Biermann each notched a sack.
The Falcons fall to 0-1 for the year and it’s the first time Falcons head coach Mike Smith has lost a season opener. And with the loss to the Steelers, the Falcons have yet to defeat the Steelers at Pittsburgh.
They will have one week to regroup before the face the Arizona Cardinals at the Georgia Dome Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
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