Falcons Can't Find Offense, Trail Patriots 13-0 At Half
The struggles are continuing for the Atlanta Falcons.
After Sunday's embarrassing 43-3 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the offense has continued to struggle in the first half and are being shut out by the New England Patriots, trailing 13-0.
Atlanta holds a minus-85 scoring margin, second only to the winless Detroit Lions in the NFC, and has been victorious against only one team with a winning record this season.
New England has won four straight, good for the second-best active streak in the league, and are led by rookie quarterback Mac Jones who is playing his way to an Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
The Patriots also have a defense good at forcing turnovers while coach Bill Belichick is quietly molding them back into a contender in their post-Brady era.
After a poor performance last week against Dallas, Atlanta is looking to strike quickly and strike often on offense. But the Patriots' defense has other ideas, and Atlanta finds itself struggling on offense once again.
In the first quarter, Atlanta had just two possessions, gaining 17 yards on nine plays. But in the second quarter, the running game found legs during an extended drive as they went 47 yards in 13 plays.
But a 13-yard sack of quarterback Matt Ryan during a pass play called on a third and short culminated in a 45-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo. Then an illegal formation call nullified the field goal and created a 50-yarder that was then missed by Koo.
Ryan is 9-for-13 for 61 yards, as he was under constant pressure from the New England defensive that registered three sacks for 26 yards in the first half.
The running game isn't faring much better, as a combination of Qadree Ollison, Keith Smith, Mike Davis, and Wayne Gallman has totaled 29 yards on nine carries.
The Falcons have managed just five first downs and 64 total yards compared to New England's 181, and have committed five penalties for 37 yards, and will try and find offense in the second half.
