Chiefs hold on for win as Falcons waste two chances to take lead late in fourth quarter

The Atlanta Falcons can be very lucky with a single drop from Saquon Barkley.

The Falcons should make a big jump after upgrading to a quarterback in Kirk Cousins, and they are just one improbable win away from going 0-3. The Falcons got off to a fast start on Sunday night, but the offense couldn’t maintain momentum and they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 22-17.

The Falcons had two chances to win in the fourth quarter. The first drive stalled inside the 10-yard line and was a turnover on downs, and the final push to win was ended when Bijan Robinson was stopped for a loss on a fourth-and-inches handoff. It was an odd play call, with Robinson getting the handoff that was moving east-west instead of toward the middle of the line. Perhaps concerns about the offensive line, which was struggling with injuries, played a role in the call. It didn’t help that a quarterback sneak with Cousins, who was nursing a torn Achilles tendon, was off the table. Give the Chiefs credit for making the plays they needed to make to pull out the win.

The Falcons have had a tough schedule. The combined record of their three opponents is 8-1, and their only loss came when the Falcons came back to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 after Barkley’s loss sparked a game-winning drive by Atlanta. But the NFL doesn’t have much sympathy for teams that have tough schedules. The Falcons don’t play well enough to be better than 1-2. And they’re lucky to be 1-2.

Chiefs take lead in 2nd half

The Falcons started fast. Kirk Cousins ​​hit Drake London for a 14-yard score and a 7-0 lead. After the Chiefs tied the game, Bijan Robinson scored and the Falcons regained the lead, 14-7. Then the offense, which lost a pair of offensive linemen to injuries, faltered. Worse, the Falcons suffered a critical turnover late in the half.

Rather than play it safe when they took over with 59 seconds left in the half, Cousins ​​went back to pass, got his arm hit while being pressured behind a battered offensive line, and the Chiefs intercepted the ball. The Chiefs scored a field goal near the end of the half to cut Atlanta’s lead to 14-13.

The third quarter was all Chiefs. They went on a couple of 11-play drives, ate up most of the clock, and scored a field goal and touchdown. Atlanta barely had the ball in the third quarter and trailed 22-14 in the fourth.

The only good news for the Falcons is that the Chiefs didn’t shut them out completely, despite several chances to do so.

Falcons have a chance in the fourth quarter

The Falcons got a field goal and then forced a run. They trailed 22-17 with one shot to pull off a blowout win over the two-time reigning champions. It wouldn’t be their last chance.

The Falcons were pushed back to their own 6-yard line, but after that, the offense began to pick up the pace, much like the two-minute drill that won their game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. London caught a huge pass on fourth down to keep the drive alive. But on back-to-back plays inside the 10-yard line, Cousins ​​threw an incomplete pass to Kyle Pitts (with officials possibly missing a defensive pass interference call) and London and the Chiefs took over on downs.

The Falcons had one more chance just before the two-minute warning. The Chiefs punted after Mahomes made a miss to Xavier Worthy on third down, when Worthy appeared to stop his route. That gave Cousins ​​another chance for his second game-winning drive of the season. The drive was kept alive by a pair of Chiefs penalties, and the Falcons pulled inside the 20-yard line. They faced fourth-and-inches with less than a minute left. The Falcons inexplicably ran a wide play to Robinson, and he was stopped well short of the line of scrimmage.

The Falcons had chances to win. They just aren’t ready to win yet. The Chiefs are used to being in that position and it showed.