The Atlanta Falcons have been doing it the hard way all year long. Why should it be any different for a matchup between two teams battling for the best record in the NFL?
Taking a lead, giving it back or at the very least letting an opponent back into the game, then pulling it out in a thrilling finish seems to be Atlanta’s mantra this season. More of the same took place on Thursday night at the Georgia Dome, where the Falcons outlasted the Ravens 26-21 after squandering leads of 13-0 and 20-7 only to recover from a 21-20 deficit.
These were the same Falcons who saw a 24-6 lead evaporate against the Bengals (before winning 39-32) and came within two yards of blowing what had been a 14-0 lead over the Bucs (before winning 27-21). Unfortunately for the Ravens, these were also the same Falcons who scored a comeback overtime win at New Orleans, kicked a last-second field goal to beat San Francisco by two points, responded to Cincinnati’s run with two quick fourth-quarter touchdowns, and stopped the Bucs on 4th-and-1 at the two-yard line in the waning moments.
“With 65 seconds left to go in the ballgame, no one on our sideline blinked,” head coach Mike Smith explained in his post-game press conference. “Like we’ve done all year, we had a level of resolve that just amazes me each and every time. We simply went out there and went to work and made the plays that we needed to make there at the end of the ballgame.”
White’s night encapsulated what this team was all about on Thursday and what it has been all about throughout the first 10 weeks of the season. Despite dropping two potentially crucial passes, one that likely would have ran out the clock and another during the game-winning drive, he came right back out to score the clinching touchdown.
“Just listening to Matt and our o-line,” White said in his post-game interview when asked about how he came back from the two drops. “They expect me to make the plays, but when I don’t make them, they expect me to come out there and make something happen. After I dropped the ball on third down and they scored, Tyson (Clabo) looks at me and says, ‘hey man, go win the game for us.’ They expect me to go out there and do something special.”
White did just that. Not even his two miscues and not even a knee injury that left him questionable for the game could prevent him from going for 138 yards and two scores.
While White has been so good that he rarely has to overcome adversity like he did on Thursday night, the Falcons have been doing it for 10 weeks. Despite injuries (Sean Weatherspoon has missed four straight games, Kerry Meier and Jerious Norwood are out of the year), a host of blown leads and close games (six wins by no more than 10 points), and just three days rest prior to facing one of the AFC’s best teams, Atlanta is 7-2.
Don’t look now, but these never-say-die Falcons have the best record in the NFL.
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