ATLANTA — Falcons coach Arthur Smith should get the coach-of-the-year award for disguising his team’s weak offensive line for half of a season.
Smith, a first-year head coach, called quick passes, moved around Cordarrelle Patterson like a Rook in a Chess match, generally kept quarterback Matt Ryan alive and covered up the fact that Falcons can’t run the football effectively.
Without Patterson, combined with the Patriots sitting on the short routes and stifling rookie tight end Kyle Pitts, Ryan and the Falcons were stymied 25-0 on Thursday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ryan was sacked four times and hit 11 times as his line was shredded. The Falcons could manage only 40 yards rushing on 16 carries.
The Falcons, who already had a small margin for error, didn’t help themselves much. They lined up incorrectly twice, left a receiver wide open and missed a field-goal attempt as the Patriots took a 13-0 halftime lead.
The Patriots, who were led by rookie quarterback Mac Jones and a strong rushing attack, improved to 7-4.
The Falcons dropped to 4-6 and have lost two consecutive games since upsetting New Orleans on Nov. 7.
Here are five things we learned from the loss:
1. Offense meek without Patterson: Patterson, 30, has been one of the Falcons’ top offensive weapons. He helped win the game over the Saints with a 64-yard reception in the final minute that led to the game-winning field goal.
Patterson has 116 touches for 776 yards and seven touchdowns for the Falcons this season.
Patterson played for New England during the 2018 season.
Through eight games with the Falcons, Patterson has a career-high in yards receiving (483), receiving touchdowns (five) and yards rushing (303).
Patterson signed a one-year, $3 million deal with a $1.7 million signing bonus with the Falcons. He wants to stay with the Falcons next season, but may be playing himself into a more lucrative deal in free agency.
“I love Atlanta,” Patterson said. “That’s out of my pay (range). If it was up to me, I’d be here for the next two years. If it was up to me. But it’s not.”
Without Patterson, the Patriots concentrated on stopping Pitts with safety Kyle Dugger and a host of other defenders to help bracket the rookie.
The Falcons have been outscored 68-3 in the past two games.
2. Blown coverage: New England’s Nick Folk made a 32-yard field goal on their second possession to put the Patriots up 3-0.
After a Falcons punt, rookie Falcons cornerback Darren Hall left New England wide receiver Nelson Agholor and let him run free across the defense. Everybody else appeared to be playing man-to-man defense. Hall ran a few steps and then dropped into a zone.
Agholor scored on a 15-yard crossing route to put the Patriots up 10-0.
It appeared to be one of those mental mistakes that defensive coordinator Dean Pees discussed Tuesday.
Folk added a 44-yard field goal with five seconds left in the second quarter, a 53-yarder in the fourth quarter and a 33-yarder with 1:55 left to play.
New England linebacker Kyle Van Noy returned an interception of backup quarterback Josh Rosen for a 35-yard touchdown with 1:22 to play.
Feleipe Franks came on for the next series and threw an interception to Avery Phillips on the first play.
3. Wasted opportunities: The Falcons had scoring opportunities in the game, but wasted them.
The Falcons were stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the 16-yard line in the third quarter. Running back Qadree Ollison was short as he tried to plow behind left guard Jalen Mayfield.
The Patriots collapsed the middle of the Falcons line.
In the process, the Falcons wasted an interception and 34-yard return by cornerback A.J. Terrell.
Earlier in the game, The Falcons moved to the Patriots 14-yard line and came away with no points.
On third-and-1, Ryan was sacked by Van Noy for a loss of 13 yards. Younghoe Koo made a 45-yard field goal, but lineman Jason Spriggs was called for illegal formation.
Koo then missed the 50-yard attempt, wide left.
4. Pass protection was leaky: Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary whiffed on a speed rush by Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon.
McGary, who gave up a similar sack to Micah Parsons on Sunday against Dallas, continues to struggle against speed rushers.
In the Saints game, the Falcons had running back Mike Davis go over and chip on Cam Jordan.
Judon entered the game with 9.5 sacks, 19 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for losses.
McGary wasn’t alone, as the Falcons allowed four sacks and 12 quarterback hits.
The Falcons did get three sacks, too. Linebacker Foye Oluokun, Hall and safety Erik Harris recorded the sacks.
Entering the game Oluokun has been sent on a team-high 35 blitzes and had five quarterback knockdowns, two hurries and a sack.
5. Defensive line rotation: The Falcons’ defensive tackle rotation was interesting. Former starter Tyeler Davison and second-round Marlon Davidson were declared inactive along with John Cominsky, who’s been buried on the depth chart.
The Falcons elected to start Grady Jarrett, Anthony Rush and Jonathan Bullard, who missed the last game with a concussion.
The backups included Mike Pennel and rookie Ta’Quon Graham, who was inactive for the past three games.
Graham had played 92 defensive snaps in five games before facing the Patriots. He had made five tackles.
Rush, who’s 6-foot-4 and 361 pounds, gives the Falcons a traditional nose tackle for their 3-4 alignment.
The moves were coaching decisions.
