Falcons Rely On Rookie TE Kyle Pitts, Top Lions For 1st 'Home' Win
In a season of Atlanta Falcons oddities, the inability to win a true "home game'' may be the oddest of all.
First-year coach Arthur Smith's team entered the weekend holding both mathematical chances of a winning season and a playoff berth ... while also being winless at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta 20, Detroit 16 on Sunday changed some of that for the better.
It took survival of a wild last few ticks, first because the Lions recovered a Russell Gage fumble on third down with 2:18 left, and then because Atlanta recorded an interception at the 1-yard line from Foye Oluokun to close it.
The tight end contribution of Hayden Hurst, with his fourth-quarter TD of 12 yards was clutch ...
And in the end, the Falcons are now 7-8 with two game remaining. They have developed, under Smith, into something above a have-not - while having victimized a 2-12-1 Lions team that is the very definition of that.
The Lions, under their own first-year coach in Dan Campbell and playing without starting quarterback Jared Goff (COVID, with Tim Boyle in his spot) were able to get little going against Atlanta coordinator Dean Pees' defense. Meanwhile, Atlanta QB Matt Ryan (18 of 24, 215 yards) used the weaponry around him - Hurst, but also Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson, mostly - to out-talent the visitors.
Pitts totaled 102 yards on six catches, putting him alongside Chicago's Mike Ditka as the only tight ends to surpass 900 yards as rookies. And Patterson, though he had only seven carries (as did Mike Davis), scored his 11th TD.
The Falcons had been 0-5 in Atlanta this season; a technical "home game'' win came over the Jets in London in October.
Through it all - the change in organizational leadership, the Julio Jones trade, the Calvin Ridley leave of absence, and of course, COVID - the weirdest occurrence was the absence of success at home.
"I love the passion of our fans and we need to reward them with the home win,'' Smith said this week. "That’s not lost on us.”
Another oddity: Entering Sunday, the road team had won the last five games in the series.
But this Lions team, even with Gage's giveaway, isn't up to that; they are now 0-7-1 on the road this season as they gear up for a top slot in the April NFL Draft.
Atlanta will likely soon turn the page to the draft as well, as the odds are stacked against the Falcons as it regards the playoffs. But on this day, Atlanta separated itself from the dregs of the NFL, kept alive some hope, and rewarded the "passion of the fans.''
