Not Extra Points, But It's This Critical Stat That Costs Falcons Win vs. Patriots

FOXBOROUGH, MA – The Atlanta Falcons fell in heartbreaking finish to the New England Patriots in Week 9. After a week of scrutiny, the Falcons’ offense put together a solid performance against a strong defensive unit at Gillette Stadium. One key metric held them back from a potential win: their third-down offense.

Atlanta converted just one of their 10 third-down conversions (10%) in the loss, while the Patriots converted eight of their 12 (67%). Four of those conversions came from 3-and-7 or longer.

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“Got to find a way to move the chains on third down, maintain possessions,” head coach Raheem Morris said after the game. “Got to find a way to get off the grass. That's part of the keys to victory today. We weren't able to do that. We did get two turnovers to combat that, to allow us to have an opportunity to try to win that game, and we just came up short.”

The Patriots snuffed out the Falcons’ running game on Sunday, and Atlanta fell to 0-4 when failing to rush for 100 yards in a game this season. Typically, the entire offense would falter, but that was not necessarily the case.

The Falcons accounted for 288 total yards and scored 23 points, with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s first-career game with three passing touchdowns. The second-year starter found his stars in this game.

Wide receiver Drake London caught nine of his 14 targets for 118 yards and three touchdowns, the first hat-trick and the second multi-touchdown game of his career. According to the team’s notes, London became the first Falcon with three or more receiving touchdowns in a road game since Andre Rison in Week 3 of the 1993 season. He also becomes the third Falcon all-time to notch three-plus receiving touchdowns and eight-plus receptions in a game.

Running back Bijan Robinson finished the game with 12 rushes for 46 yards and a career-high eight receptions for 50 yards. This was his 26th-career game with 90 or more total yards in a game.

On top of the individual performances, the Falcons finally found some success in the red zone. They went 3-for-3, scoring touchdowns on all three trips.

The bright spots were not nearly enough for Atlanta. Four of their first five possessions ended in either a punt or a turnover on downs, and they had three separate three-and-outs.

Defensively, the Falcons had three players (Brandon Dorlus, LaCale London, and Jalon Walker) with two or more sacks for the first time since 2025, and only the second time in franchise history.

The missed extra point will steal headlines, but their inability to come up with the big play when it mattered most is a major reason why they lost this game.

“We are going to continue to focus on the good, work on the stuff we need to get better at,” safety and team captain Jessie Bates III said after the game. It is still a long season. You never know what will happen. We’ve got nine or ten weeks left. We’ll see what happens and go to Germany and try and take care of business.”

Up next for the Falcons is a trip across the Atlantic to take on another top-flight AFC opponent with the 7-2 Indianapolis Colts. Kickoff in Berlin is set for 9:30 at Olympiastadion as a part of the NFL’s multi-year commitment to playing games in Germany. This will be the first game in NFL history to take place in Berlin.