It wasn’t pretty but they got the job done. The Atlanta Falcons squeezed past the reeling New York Giants 23-20 on Monday night thanks in part to another MVP type game from Matt Ryan. The defense, outside of a couple players (looking at you Robert Alford), played extremely well and caused havoc for Eli Manning all game. This game was huge for the Dirty Birds as they now have momentum heading into the much needed bye week.
Defense Stood Tall
Let me be clear, not everyone on the defensive front did their job. Alford played like trash and kept getting burnt by Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard. And yes, he got his once-a-game holding call. It’s tradition at this point. Nonetheless, the front seven, especially the defensive line, played outstanding and completely shut down Saquon Barkley as this was the first game that he didn’t have at least 100 rushing yards. Sure, the utter incompetence of the Giants coaching staff and Eli Manning himself made the task of stopping the Giants offense easier but that doesn’t take away anything from the Falcons. This defense looks to be improving and with Deion Jones coming back soon on the horizon it’ll be much better.
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The Tavecgoat
With the injury to longtime kicker Matt Bryant earlier in the week, the Falcons signed former Oakland Raiders kicker Giorgio Tavecchio who they signed in the preseason. Not only did he ball out but he also essentially kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:55 left in the 4th that made it 23-12 at the time, before the giants blurred down the field late to make it 23-20. Tavecchio showed some impressive leg as he went 3/3 from 40, 50, and 56(!!!) yards. When Bryant comes back he’s going to be the starting kicker of course but it seems that Tavecchio has found a new spot here in Atlanta judging by how much confidence Dan Quinn already has for him.
Got It Done
Like I said in the beginning of the article, it wasn’t pretty but they got the job done and isn’t that all that matters? The team at 3-4 is in relatively good shape for a team with this many injuries and it looks to get better with Debo returning soon. All this team has to do is go in and keep taking care of business no matter who it is. If they can do that, the playoffs look like a sure fire thing.
Final Falcon Word
The Falcons are on a bye week but return to travel to Washington to take on the Redskins. Nothing about Washington really scares me as their offense looks meh at best and their defense has been shown to be funky in the light of a good offense. Nonetheless, Atlanta still needs to go take care of business there as it seems like every game is a must win.
I hope you enjoyed the article and remember to always RISE UP!
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