The Atlanta Falcons snapped their four-game losing streak, but that was all Atlanta could say in a 15-9 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders Monday night. The Falcons scored just 15 points and survived a late charge against a Raiders team led by Desmond Ridder for the victory.
Atlanta stayed one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South, but there was little for the Falcons to be encouraged by. The Falcons had 11 possessions and scored just one touchdown, a 30-yard pass from Kirk Cousins to Drake London on the game’s second possession to take a 7-0 lead. The Falcons never trailed, but they just couldn’t pull away.
That almost came back to bite them, as Ridder threw a touchdown pass to Ameer Abdullah with 2:54 left to make the score 15-9. Ridder struggled throughout the night, but had a chance to win the game with 1:50 left. Las Vegas had two Hail Mary attempts in the final seconds, as Jessie Bates picked off Ridder on the final play to seal the victory.
Ridder finished 23 of 39 for 208 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions despite struggling for 3.5 quarters.
Cousins struggled throughout the night, finishing 11 of 17 for 12 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Falcons had just 261 yards of offense and had two field goals from Younghoe Koo — a less-than-encouraging performance despite getting the losing streak snapped.
Here are some takeaways from this game. A more detailed recap can be found in the live blog below!
Why the Falcons won
The Falcons didn’t do much offensively to “win” the game, but a strong start helped. Kirk Cousins threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Drake London early, as the Falcons had their game-high possession in yards (51). The offense didn’t do much, but the defense took advantage of a third-string quarterback by holding the Raiders to just 116 yards on their first 10 possessions.
If the Falcons weren’t facing a third-string quarterback, the outcome might have been different due to their porous offense.
Why the Raiders lost
The Raiders rolled out a third-string quarterback with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell injured, and Desmond Ridder’s start to the game went as expected. Ridder began 9 of 20 passing for 65 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception (32.3 rating) as the Raiders had three points on their first 10 possessions.
Ridder rallied on the final two possessions, finishing 13 of 18 for 135 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but the rally was too late. The poor start doomed Ridder and the offense, which finished with nine points.
Turning point
The Raiders were making a late run at snatching the victory — getting the Falcons off the field on third down thanks to a Kirk Cousins incomplete pass intended for Kyle Pitts. Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane batted the pass but also leaped into Cousins making the play, causing a 15-yard penalty that kept the Falcons on the field.
Las Vegas would have gotten the ball with just over 2:30 left with a timeout and the two-minute warning, but the penalty allowed the Falcons to take a minute off the clock and made the Raiders burn their last timeout. The Raiders got the ball back with 1:50 left and no timeouts. Perhaps the Hail Mary attempts late could have been regular plays into the end zone with the extra minute on the clock.
Play of the game
There weren’t many plays to choose from in this affair, but Atlanta’s blocked punt set the stage for the eventual victory. KhaDarel Hodge blocked A.J. Cole’s punt with 12:26 left in the third quarter, this coming after Kirk Cousins threw an interception on the first play of the period.
The block by Hodge gave the Falcons good field position, but they didn’t fully capitalize on the excellent opportunity. Atlanta only got a field goal, but the 40-yarder by Younghoe Koo gave the Falcons the deciding score in the win.
Up next
The Falcons remain alive in the NFC South and will host the Giants (2-11) on Sunday. The Raiders are tied for the worst record in football and host the Jaguars (3-11) on Sunday.
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