LANDOVER, Md. — Unless they get some unlikely help from the unlikeliest of places next week, it’s going to be a long offseason for the Atlanta Falcons, and Sunday night at Northwest Stadium is what they’re going to be thinking about through most of it.
The Falcons squandered a 17-7 halftime lead and first place in the NFC South by getting outscored 23-7 and outgained 296-138 after halftime in a 30-24 overtime loss to Washington. The Falcons (8-8) fell one game behind Tampa Bay (9-7) in the division and must beat Carolina (4-12) in Atlanta in Week 18 and hope the Buccaneers are upset by the Falcons’ most hated rival, a five-win New Orleans team that has lost three straight.
“We have to control what the controllables are,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said, “go out there and win our football game, that’s all we can do.”
And it’s what they didn’t do Sunday. Despite sputtering throughout the second half, Atlanta tied the game at 24-24 on a 13-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Kyle Pitts on fourth-and-goal with 1:19 left in the game. Morris chose to kick the extra point instead of going for two in hopes the Falcons could make a quick stop and get the ball back.
They did with 40 seconds remaining, but that was the last thing that went their way. Penix completed a 25-yard pass to Darnell Mooney, but Morris decided against using one of his two timeouts and 17 seconds ran off the clock from the time Mooney was tackled until the Falcons snapped the ball again.
Penix finding his guys with the game on the line!
📺: #ATLvsWAS on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/eWd5KPKWPh— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024
“Probably could have, thought we could get on the line of scrimmage with our operation a little bit faster, trying to save that timeout,” Morris said. “In hindsight, could have been a better decision to take that timeout. You can always second-guess those things, always second-guess those motives.”
Atlanta eventually had to use one of its timeouts in a dead-ball situation and then settled for a 56-yard field goal attempt from Riley Patterson that fell short as regulation time expired.
“That’s Coach Raheem. He calls the timeouts when he feels fit,” Penix said. “He trusts us to get the plays off and make the next play. We all trust Coach’s judgment on that, so that’s what we’re going to lean on.”
GO DEEPER
Week 17 NFL playoff picture: Vikings win sets up clash with Lions for NFC No. 1 seed
Morris also chose not to use his timeouts at the end of the first half. After having first-and-10 from the Washington 36-yard line with 46 seconds remaining in the half, the Falcons ran only three more offensive plays while Morris called none of his three remaining timeouts. The half ended with a 39-yard Patterson field goal with six seconds remaining.
That operation “absolutely” went as Morris planned, the coach said.
“Lots of things you can always clean up, lot of things you can always get better at,” Morris said. “Those are always things you can get better at, particularly with a young quarterback, so we’ll find ways to get better at that next week.”
It may be too late. After Patterson’s missed field goal at the end of regulation, Washington won the overtime coin toss and went 70 yards, winning the game on a 2-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to tight end Zach Ertz.
DANIELS TO ERTZ
THE @COMMANDERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS! pic.twitter.com/OzzGe0upei
— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024
Daniels finished 24-for-36 passing for 227 yards and three touchdowns and carried the ball 16 times for 127 yards.
“That guy’s an absolute beast,” Morris said. “He showed it today. He’s shown the clutch gene all year.”
Penix, Daniels’ friend and fellow rookie, did not fare as well. In his second career start, Penix finished 19-for-35 for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His turnover came on the game’s first possession and was the result of what Morris called “a bust in the route” by reserve wide receiver Chris Blair, who was inserted for that play because Mooney had to leave briefly with an injury, Morris said.
“It’s always tough losing, but we play in the National Football League. We play the best of the best, have to come with your A game,” Penix said. “There are some things we wish we could have back and some things we did good. It was tough.”
Several times Sunday night, Penix slapped his hands in frustration directed at himself after incompletions.
“For sure, I did miss a couple I normally make, but that’s going to come with chemistry,” Penix said. “I talked to Drake (London) at halftime and said I have to be able to give y’all these opportunities and he’s like, ‘Bro, we’ve playing together six quarters. It’s going to come.’ We’re going to continue to grow with that connection.”
Morris backed his quarterback after the game.
“I love the kid,” the coach said. “I love the kid’s fight, love the kid’s desire. Anybody who can go out there and stand in adversity and throw that strike like he did to Kyle Pitts to give us an opportunity to win that football game, that’s what it’s about. He represents us, he represents Atlanta, he represents everything that’s good about us.”
GO DEEPER
NFL Week 17 takeaways: Are Vikings on the Lions’, Eagles’ level? Should Cowboys keep McCarthy?
London led the Falcons with seven catches for 106 yards and surpassed 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his career, and running back Bijan Robinson finished with 90 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
The bad news for the Falcons was that 82 of those yards and 13 of those carries came before halftime. Atlanta rushed for 25 yards in the second half.
“That was about time of possession (in the second half), and they also came out and did a nice job stopping the run,” Morris said.
The Commanders (11-5), who are in their first year under former Atlanta coach Dan Quinn, clinched a playoff berth with the victory. The Falcons haven’t made the postseason since 2017 when Quinn was their head coach.
“I’m super encouraged in the fight everybody showed, but they outlasted us in the end,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “It’s unfortunate, could have gone either way. In this profession, everybody is always getting graded on everything we do. Missed opportunities do hurt, but they unfortunately do count.”
(Photo of Zach Ertz and Dee Alford: Amber Searls / Imagn Images)
