Bad teams find a way to lose games. They snatch defeat from the nurturing bosom of victory. I can think of no other way to summarize what happened to the Falcons last Sunday vs. the Detroit Lions. Holding a 21-0 lead in the 2nd half of an NFL game is supposed to be an easy victory. Unfortunately, it ended in a 22-21 loss.

Here is what I took away from the game review:

The Falcons offensive line is improved with Ryan Schraeder starting in place of Gabe Carimi at RT. Schraeder does a better job of dealing with speed off the edge and when he is bull rushed than Carimi did in the past several weeks.
When the Steven Jackson era ends here in Atlanta, we will all wonder why the Falcons didn't want to start and play running backs that can make people miss.
The inside linebacker play has been bad all season, but the average safeties are starting to show up in the game film more and more. Kemal Ishmael is a quality backup. But not a 60-play starter.

Let's take a look at some plays:

3rd and 8 - 13:59 ATL 22 yard line (1st QT) 0-0 Score:

The Falcons did a good job in the first half of dealing with the Lions front four. This is a theme that keeps showing up each week: good first half on the offensive line, poor second half. On this 3rd down play, Falcons QB Matt Ryan targeted WR Roddy White. White is running a 20 yard in, so pass protection was key.

This shot shows the completion of the play as White has reached the soft spot in the Lions zone defense. 24 yard completion and a first down.

2nd and goal - 9:31 DET 7 yard line (1st QT) 0-0 Score:

One of the long term goals for this season should be determining whether or not RB Devonta Freeman can handle a 20 touch workload. I love his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and make people miss in addition to his tough running. On this play, the Falcons have setup a quick screen to their right. As you can see, the Falcons have three blockers in the open field to deal with the three oncoming defenders. RT Ryan Schraeder misses his block in the open field, leaving Freeman to have to make a man miss.

Freeman's quickness takes care of the unblocked defender. The result is a seven yard TD catch and a 7-0 lead.

1st and 10 - 3:04 DET 21 yard line (1st QT) 7-0 Falcons Lead:

On this play, WR Roddy White is running a double move on the defending corner. As you can see from the game film, Ryan is well protected once again. When Ryan gets this type of pocket, the offense runs smoothly and points get put on the scoreboard. White draws a pass interference call that sets up a 1st and goal from the one yard line.

3rd and 14 - 6:35 ATL 14 yard line (3rd QT) 21-3 Falcons Lead:

On the Falcons first possession of the 2nd half, the Lions begin to bring pressure regularly. In previous weeks we have seen how the Giants, Bears, and Ravens have had success with T-E stunts and twists. On this play, DL Jason Jones plays an inside game with DT Ndamukong Suh. Suh fires into the outside shoulder of RG Jon Asamoah. Jones comes around Suh and has a free run at QB Matt Ryan.

Ryan quickly runs out of time and delivers an incomplete pass to WR Harry Douglas.

3rd and 25 - 4:48 DET 41 yard line (3rd QT) 21-3 Falcons Lead:

This play changed the entire game. At the very least, the momentum of the game altered on this awful 3rd down play. The Lions were backed up into a 2nd and 35 on their own 31 yard line before this play occurred. That is a situation where only a defensive mistake could bail out the Lions. S Kemal Ishmael gave the Lions just that. On the play, Ishmael splits the difference between the two Lions receivers just as he's supposed to. But when the slot receiver runs his in at the first down marker, Ishmael begins to slow to a stop in his deep zone. WR Golden Tate quickly accelerates past Ishmael and catches the 59 yard touchdown pass.

1st and 10 - :22 ATL 47 yard line (3rd QT) 21-10 Falcons Lead:

This play stands out to me not because of the result, but because you NEVER see this. This is QB Matt Ryan's unicorn, yeti, and tooth fairy wrapped into one play. Ryan's interception on this play was surprising because it was so wildly uncharacteristic. On the play, Ryan is looking to get the ball to WR Harry Douglas in the slot. Two Lions take the route away. WR Julio Jones is wide open but Ryan is looking for more on the play. This is only a three man route, against seven defenders.

Ryan gets flushed to his left and looks for the only receiver on that end of the field. WR Roddy White is open but the Lions rush is closing in on Ryan. Ryan would have been sacked if he attempted to get his feet set and make the downfield throw to White.

QB Matt Ryan throws the ball into the middle of the field where CB Cassius Vaughn is the only player in the area. Vaughn makes the easy interception and sets up another score for the Lions.

2nd and 10 - 2:09 ATL 38 yard line (4th QT) 21-19 Falcons Lead:

I wanted to view the look at two plays in particular because they were related in the minds of the coaching staff. On this play, WR Julio Jones runs the quick screen and gains 22 yards on the play. But what I wanted to look at is the defense that the Lions deployed on the play. As you can see the Lions played man-free. There is just a single-high safety playing centerfield while the remaining defensive backs are in man coverage.

3rd and 10 - 1:50 DET 40 yard line (4th QT) 21-19 Falcons Lead:

Here is where this play and the previous one are related. Coach Mike Smith made the point in his Monday press conference that the Falcons threw the ball on the critical play because they expected to get a similar defense as to what they got when they had the 22 yard completion. Pre-snap, the Lions are in a clear Cover 2 and do not attempt to disguise their defense. The benefit of this scheme is that the defense gets to keep their eyes on the ball. As you can see, both the linebacker and the slot corner have their eyes on QB Matt Ryan as he runs play action.

From another angle, you can see how the Lions quickly attacked the play with their defenders. Its doubtful that the Falcons would have been able to gain enough yards for the first down or make their way into field goal range. But once the pass is dropped, the Falcons stopped the game clock on their own. They set themselves up to grab defeat from victory.

-los

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Game Review - Lions vs Falcons