The Falcons’ attempt to comeback from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit Sunday fell short in the red zone. New England kneeled to run out the clock, and with the 30-23 win, handed Atlanta back-to-back losses for the first time since 2009. “You get what you earn in the NFL, and we’ve earned a 1-3 record the first quarter of the season,” said head coach Mike Smith after the game, “ We’re just not executing like we need to in the red zone.”
The Falcons finished 1 of 6 in the red zone and have struggled the length of the season in that department. “The only way I know how to fix it [the red zone struggles] is to get back to work, evaluate what we’re doing, and try and improve,” said Matt Ryan.
This was the third defeat that has come down to a play in the endzone this season. The losses brought plenty of disappointment to a club eyeing postseason success, but there is plenty of opportunity for the team to get the season turned around.
“There are 12 more games to go and a lot can happen during that time,” said Ryan. “Our mindset has to be on next week.” The Falcons will host the 2-2 New York Jets this Monday night.
STOPPING SMITH…
After the 2012 season when quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick challenged the Atlanta defense with their versatility and found success, it appeared that the Achilles’ heal of the Atlanta defense was slowing down these mobile passers. This year, the pocket passers are standing tall and getting the best of the defense, and the unit currently sits 26th in the league with 301 passing yards allowed per game.
Jets rookie passer Geno Smith will be the first quarterback this season capable of escaping the pocket and picking up big yards that Atlanta will have to game plan for. “We’re just going to try and frustrate him [Geno Smith],” said defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux. “We have to continue to make sure that we don’t make the game easy for him.”
Atlanta will look to eliminate yards after the contact that helped move the Patriots down the field last week. “We’ve got to make sure when we are playing zone defense that we play with good eyes and good vision,” said Smith.
A week 6 bye follows the Jets game and could benefit the banged up Falcons roster.
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