After another promising performance by all three phases on Thursday night, the Atlanta Falcons again found themselves in another tight ballgame against the Carolina Panthers in the closing minutes.
This time, the Falcons would answer the bell, intercepting Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with a minute left to hold on for a 25-17 victory.
Let’s quickly recap Atlanta’s offensive, defensive and special teams performances in their Week 8 win over Carolina.
OFFENSE
The Falcons’s offense was good but had trouble closing the deal in the red zone, settling for four field goals. Still, the team took care of the ball, got it into Julio Jones’ hands and did enough for a win on Thursday.
Matt Ryan was solid for most of the game. While he missed a couple throws, but was good late. Ryan threw for 281 yards and an interception and spread the ball around.
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley left the game in the second quarter after an ankle injury and wouldn’t return. Jones picked up the slack, though. He’d finish with seven catches for 137 yards.
Todd Gurley was in and out of the lineup, but rushed for 46 yards and his eighth touchdown of the season. It was good, not great performance from the offense on Thursday night.
DEFENSE
Linebacker Foye Oluokun had another big game. He’d combine with Isaiah Oliver on sack before coming up with big fourth-down stop in the second quarter. Later, he combined with DT Grady Jarrett for another big tackle for a loss on a Panthers’ fourth-down attempt.
Oluokun looks to be on his way to a Pro Bowl with this kind of game-changing performance week after week. The Panthers struggled to stop the blitz with LB Deion Jones and SS Keanu Neal, and the Falcons defensive play-calling seemed to adjust nicely in the second half.
The Falcons were aggressive, and stayed aggressive, which may have been the biggest difference. The secondary struggled but Atlanta’s front-seven continues to play better each week.
Thursday’s game would come down to a final drive by Carolina, trailing by eight with three minutes and 95 yards to go. It was undoubtedly scary for Falcons fans, but the team answered with a big interception by CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson to close out the game.
Overall, it was an excellent performance from Raheem Morris’ defense and a drastic improvement from the team’s Week 5 loss to the Panthers under Dan Quinn.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo carried the offense in the first half, making all three of his field goals to give the team a two-point lead at halftime. Koo would add another field goal in the third quarter, his fourth of the game, before missing a critical extra point in the fourth.
Jeremy Chinn caught the Falcons’ special teams unit off guard on a fake punt that the Panthers converted late in the third quarter. Rookie punter Sterling Hofrichter only had one punt attempt for 39 yards.
