Falcons, Commanders Deadlocked in Slugfest at Halftime
A wet and rainy first half has come to a close at FedEx Field, with the Atlanta Falcons tied with the Washington Commanders at 10-10.
In a battle of two teams teetering on the edge of a wildcard spot, the first 30 minutes were played evenly, as the Commanders took the lead on the half's final play.
Atlanta's offense continued its record of posting strong opening drives, as the unit put together an 11-play drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was an efficient four of four through the air while joining running backs Cordarrelle Patterson and Tyler Allgeier as contributors on the ground.
The series stalled around the Washington 30 yard line, and the Falcons had to settle for a 47-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo to get on the board.
Punch, counterpunch.
The Commanders did one better, marching to the endzone on just seven plays, but in different fashion. Quarterback Taylor Heinicke went four of four for 63 yards, capping it off with a 14-yard catch-and-run touchdown by running back Brian Robinson Jr., who ran over Falcons corner Darren Hall on his way to the endzone.
The two offenses proceeded to stall out on their second possessions, with each side being forced to punt. Falcons rookie receiver Drake London's first professional drop came on 3rd and 2, and Heinicke threw an incompletion and short checkdown after pressure from Arnold Ebiketie ensued, leading to the Commanders' first punt.
Atlanta's offense capitalized, putting together its best drive of the game - an 11-play, 77-yard march featuring a 22-yard completion from Mariota to London on 2nd and 25, capped off by a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt, who's seeing a bigger role in place of the injured Kyle Pitts. Pruitt's score put the Falcons on top, 10-7.
Punch, counterpunch.
Washington's offense responded by having a 14-play, 59-yard series, its longest of the day, led by running back Antonio Gibson's 27 all-purpose yards. However, the Falcons defense stood tall in the redzone, forcing the Commanders to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Joey Slye.
The Falcons, facing a two-minute situation, started in good fashion, as Mariota hit receiver Olamide Zaccheaus for a 23-yard gain down the right sideline. Staring down 4th and inches at midfield, Atlanta opted to go for it - and Patterson was stopped short of the line to gain.
Given the ball at the Atlanta 47 with 24 seconds and all three timeouts, Heinicke immediately pushed to get into field goal range - but was intercepted by Falcons linebacker Mykal Walker, giving the team new life.
After throwing it away on first down, Mariota hit tight end Anthony Firkser for a gain of 16, setting up a career-long 58-yard field goal from Koo ... but his kick fell short and wide right, leaving the game all knotted up at 10 after a pair of missed opportunities by both sides.
The Commanders will get the ball to start the second half, with each team desperately searching for a critical late-November win.
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