The Falcons played the Dallas Cowboys in a close game with high stakes. Both teams came into the game with the same record at 4-5. The Cowboys had just come off an impressive win over the defending Super Bowl Champs. While the Falcons were coming off a poor performance and loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons lost in the last seconds at Mercedes Benz Stadium, 22-19.
FIRST THREE QUARTERS
The Falcons offense began the game slow and continued the struggles from last week. They did not get on the board until the second quarter and did not get into the end zone until the fourth quarter. The biggest play in the game came before the fourth quarter came from Julio Jones and it wasn’t from a catch. In their last drive of the first half, Matt Ryan overthrew Jones and the ball ended in the defender’s hands. Jones then tackled him knocking the ball out of his hands and saving a Ryan from an interception.
The game was a defensive battle and seemed like it would be decided on whoever could score last from the very beginning of the game. Vic Beasley had a big sack and the defense was able to get pressure on Prescott in the first half. However, Prescott was able to get the ball off and create positive plays even when pressure came. In the third quarter, Ezekiel Elliott became more productive than he was at the beginning of the game and began to wear down the defensive line.
FOURTH QUARTER
The game did not really begin and become interesting until the fourth quarter. The first touchdown came in the fourth quarter by the Cowboys on a four-yard rush by Dak Prescott. Ryan gave up his forth interception of the season with a throw that was not completely his fault. The ball was caught from a bounce off the hands of Calvin Ridley. That interception led to the second Cowboys touchdown in the quarter.
The Falcons’ first trip to the red zone occurred towards the middle of the quarter and it ended in a field goal attempt. Jones got his third touchdown in three straight games to tie it up in the last minute of the game. The Cowboys got the ball back with a little less than 2 minutes in the game and needed to get into field goal range to win the game. In the end, Brett Maher, who missed an extra point attempt during the game, won the game with a 42-yard field goal as time expires.
LAST WORD
The Falcons lost a second straight game and fall to 4-6. This is also another game coming down to the last play of the game. The Falcons are now pretty much out of the hunt for the wild card spot in the playoff. They have to hope for a lot of help and would have to win out to have a chance to get into the playoffs. Their schedule does not get any easier as the season ends. They play the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 22, 2018 at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome.
