November 3, 2025 • 25 mins
The Atlanta Falcons led a late-game comeback that fell just one point short in New England, and Tori McElhaney joins Terrin Waack to break it all down. From the amazing performances of Drake London and Jalon Walker to why they won't be celebrated like they should, to what the team has on the horizon, they give you the instant reaction you need to kick off your week.
0:00 - Intro
1:19 - Q1: Missed Opportunities
6:25 - Q2: Drake London
11:28 - Halftime stat
12:50 - Q3: Jalon Walker
18:38 - Q4: The Road Ahead
24:30 - Outro
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
World two slips.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Falcons Final
Whistle Podcast. I am Twerry mcleany, joined virtually by Tarren
walk Arran is currently still in Providence as her flight
does not leave until tomorrow morning, so we are recording
this after I flew back from Atlanta with the team.
Teraran again leaves tomorrow, so we may be a little
(00:37):
delulu as we talk about this game that we witnessed
up at Gillette Stadium earlier on Sunday. The Falcons dropped
two three and five on the year, losing their third
consecutive game to the New England Patriots, the final score
being a one point difference twenty four to twenty three
the Patriots way, the Falcons weren't without chances to win
(00:58):
this game, point blank period, and that's kind of where
I want us to start this podcast. As a reminder,
the show is split into four quarters. When our six
minute timer is up, the whistle blows and we move
on to the first topic. So, Taren, are you ready
to get this thing started?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I am ready.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Okay, here we go. So first quarter, quarter number one.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I want to talk about the teams miss opportunities because
I feel as though that encapsulates what this game was.
I think what I'm most frustrated by in the aftermath
of this game is that it's it's whatever. He Morris
said that, if I'm being completely honest, when he was
(01:40):
after the game, he was asked about the game, and
he said, we have to quote find a way to
win that one. And my thing is is like you
had a way, like you had multiple ways. You were
three for three in the red zone, Drake London had
a hat trick on fifty to fifty.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Balls in the end zone.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Your defense run the ball over not once but twice,
and you not six total sacks. Like all of that
in and of itself. As we're sitting there watching this
game from start to finish, it just felt like those
were the big moments. If you're looking and you're talking
to coaches and players, those are the things touchdown, sacks
and turnovers that if those things go your way, if
(02:22):
they swing your way, you're usually talking about a win.
And that's honestly, that's actually a fact. Because there is
this stat that I ran across while I was doing
kind of the rundown for this podcast that stated since
the nineteen sixty four season teams that were plus two
in turnovers and plus five in sacks won ninety six
(02:45):
point nine percent of the time.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Those are dang good odds.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
And this team, specifically, over the course of these four quarters,
were not without chance after chance to really take this one. Taren,
I've been speaking for a long time, and I apologize
for that. But you were in the locker room post game.
What did some of these players have to say about this?
(03:12):
Because of course I'm going off of like what Raheem
Wur said in the press conference, but what did the
players say?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
No, you set the scene perfectly.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
It doesn't matter how many words it took, because all
that you said is completely true. And in the locker
room it was a somber vibe. I'm pretty sure the
word somber was used more than once. I mean, you
talked to Parker Romo and you talk about missed opportunities
and his missed point after would have tied the game,
and who knows where that game would have gone if
(03:42):
it had been tied up twenty four to twenty four.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
You don't know who would have won.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
There's missed opportunity right there, and he said nobody wanted
this win more than I did in this locker room.
He played for the Patriots in the preseason, this which.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I forgot about, So yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
So did I because I don't really keep trying on
preseason teams.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Right, yeah, but.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
You could tell it it affected him, And.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, you have to make that.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
It's not a what someone made a sixty eight yard
field goal today, the longest in NFL history. I saw
this was a point after. You have to make that.
As you said, point blank. You had Jake Matthews being like,
this didn't feel good last week, didn't feel good, but
you can't say it was all bad, but we didn't win.
It's like you're putting caveats on everything, like.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
It wasn't bad, but they still lost. Same thing with
Drake London.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
He has three touchdowns and he goes, it's still a
lost and I don't care about any of the personal stats.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Right And I think like that's ultimately kind of where
we end up with this, is that like it doesn't
matter at the end of the day, Like, yes, the
odds are when you're looking at kind of historically, if
you have these turnovers, if you have these sacks, if
you have these touchdowns and these appearances in the red zone,
like you're gonna give it. You're not only gonna give
(05:05):
yourself the best chance to win, but you're winning those games.
And the fact of the matter is the Falcons didn't win,
and it was because of these missed opportunities. My question
to you, Teraran, because I know I know what my
answer is, but I want to ask you first, like,
which of the like missed opportunities of the game did
(05:25):
you feel like was maybe the most egregious to the
final score? H.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I don't want to put it on this one moment
because there's so much sub led up to it, but
it has to be for me the point after Yeah,
because you had the opportunity right there to tie it
up and see what you can do, Like the first
half was eh, that you come out in the second
half and figure things out and finally get rolling.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And get to a point where you're caught up to
the Patriots and you miss it.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
You don't get to see what the Falcons could have
done with the tide ball game.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yeah, and then it changes things because you come out
of that opportunity and you end up not doing anything
offensively thereafter. And that's what's such a hard peal to
swallow too is there were four minutes and I think
forty seconds left up and as we are talking about it,
there's our whistle. So we are moving on to the
(06:25):
second quarter where we are going to talk.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
About I mean, we have to Drake London. He had
one of the.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Best days that I think I've ever seen from him,
and I've seen a lot of good Drake London days.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
I really, I.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Don't think you could talk about this game and not
talk about Drake London. It's one of those things where
I even after the game, I was like, Drake London
alone deserved to win that game. And the fact that
ultimately we're sitting here talking about how he had nine
catches on fourteen targets, one hundred and eighteen receiving yards
and three touchdowns, yes three like.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
The hat trick.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And honestly, some of the photos from those catches were
some of the best that I think I've seen all
season from our team photographer Jay.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
He captured all three of those.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
He was actually in every end zone that Drake caught
a touchdown pass in today, which was really actually funny,
and honestly, I put them all. I put those three
photos on my Twitter so you can check it out.
Go give Jay some love. I tagged him you care
on VP our MVP J So make sure and go
check that out. It's on my page. Attuary underscore Macalhaney.
(07:38):
But Tarn, what did you and kind of the other people,
I know you touched on this a little bit, but
what did everybody make of Drake Lennon's performance today?
Speaker 4 (07:48):
I already gave away how Drake felt not happy, doesn't
matter what kind of statistics he put up. At the
end of the day, Drake cares about wins and they
did not win. So taking him aside, other people did
recognize how great of a day he had. Raheem Morris
said he had uncommon effort. You have Jake Matthews saying
(08:09):
he's a stud. That guy does it the right way.
Prepares were a great teammate. You saw the plays he
made today. He's a great athlete.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Got to keep getting him the ball.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
And then you even have Marcus Jones from the Patriots side,
who's like his catch radius is remarkable.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
He's a lot of plays today.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
So you just literally everybody recognizing the fact that Drake
London had himself a day and it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Enough, yeah, which is again another frustrating point of all
of this.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And what I found to.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Be really interesting too in within these three touchdown catches,
specifically for Drake, is that it wasn't like these were
elaborate routes that he's running. It's not like this was
a you know, these these crazy things that he's being.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Asked to do. It literally is a fifty to fifty.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Ball that he's in a one on one situation against
a dB, and it's you know, it changed periodically who
he was, who he was up against. But I think
for Drake, like we talk, you talk about what even
some of the Patriots are talking about with his catch radius,
I would say, like the body, control, the ball tracking,
(09:23):
like he showcased kind of all of that in those
three moments, and I know that we you and I
like we get to see what Drake does. It's kind
of like when we talk about Pajon, Like we get
to see it all the time, and sometimes it even
surprises us a little bit of like how remarkable it
truly is. And I think like Drake's performance today just
(09:44):
got me thinking too about something that I said at
the tail end of last year and kind of like
it being a theme of the team was that there
were individual pieces of the offense and the defense that
were having career years and we're doing a lot of
really really good things, and yet the Falcons didn't make
(10:05):
it to the playoffs. And yet the Falcons weren't atop
the NFC South and yet and yet and yet. And
that's why I think like this performance from Drake. It's
just it feels very reminiscent to everything that I feel
like I said that the Falcons didn't need to be
going into this season.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
I mean, it's the epitome of the cliche. There's no
I in team and we talk about all the pieces
to the puzzle. You're not making the puzzle. You have
all the pieces, but we're not getting the full picture still.
And it's Drake London, it's but Jean Robinson, it's Jesse Bates,
it's Kaden Ellis. They're all having these career games, career seasons,
(10:49):
big moments, and they're still big losses.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah, that it does stink that Drake's.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Day is kind of clouded ay even in his own mind,
and you want that out of a player. You want
your players on the team to be like, I don't
care about what I did. We ultimately did not wine
and that's all that matters to me. That is exactly
what you want out of a Drake London. And yet
here we are like it's still a loss. Like we
(11:19):
can talk about Drake all we want, but for the
matter is they still lost.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, honestly, that's a good note to end on as
we hear our next whistle which sends us to halftime,
and we go to halftime wanting to thank our sponsor,
Microsoft co Pilot, which is the system that helped us
curate this halftime break stat for you guys, as that
being in the last ten seasons teams were sixty four
and oh when going to when they were when they
(11:48):
had Sorry, I'm just this status so crazy to me.
In the last ten I know, in the last ten seasons,
teams we're sixty four and oh when having two turnovers
and more and five or more sacks.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
That is, until today, sixty four and zero.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Over the last decade, if a team had more than
two turnover, two or more turnovers, or five or more sacks,
they won the game. It goes back to that very
first point that we had all the way back in
quarter one and I don't even like this stat to
me is just the epitome of what this game was
in the frustration level that I think I even have
(12:29):
about it.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
I feel like we say the record and we give
people five seconds to process it. Sixty four end? Oh
is now sixty four and one.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, So that's our halftime break, brought to you by
Microsoft co Pilot. And that brings us to the third
quarter and our third topic, which was wasn't it so
nice to get Jalen Walker back?
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Like?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
I know that there are multiple pieces that the Falcons
got back today, but it really did feel like Jalen
Walker in his presence was felt just to a very
significant magnitude for this defense tearing.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
What were his final stats?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Remind us all, Dalen Walker had five total tackles, four
of which were solo foo sacks for a loss of
twenty six yards, and a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, yeah, not too shabby, I thought them.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
And I'll say this too, like a lot of his
big time plays came in these really clutch, got a
habit moments. So I thought the moment that absolutely solidified
that this defense as a unit was gonna keep this
game at least interesting. Was the strip sack by Jalen
and then the return to the New England six yard
line by James Pearce Junior. It led to a touchdown
(13:55):
right before halftime that kept it a one score game
instead of it maybe stretching two in out of hand territory.
If New England would have marched down the field and
even put up three more points before going into halftime,
knowing that they got the ball coming out of halftime,
I think that right there is what this defense has
kind of been missing since they lost Divine Diablo, and
(14:18):
it's kind of these these havoc plays, and so it
was nice to see not just Jalen Walker but James
Pierce Junior come together for this moment.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
I really felt like it flipped the.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Flipped the game on its head a little bit and
kind of gave the Falcons life to take this game
to ultimately what should have been a tie game at
the tail end of the fourth quarter.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
What teraren stood.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Out to you about this this defensive performance, whether it
be Jalen or James Pierce Junior or whoever, like what
stood out?
Speaker 4 (14:55):
First of all, you see your two first round draft
picks pulling this off one force of the all the
other ones scoops it and returns it Like that is
return on investment happening, live in action, Like your future
is right there and it's just fun to see because
I think it has been a minute since we talked
about the draft class because you did have injuries with
(15:17):
Jalen Walker, Billy Bowman Junior who didn't play today, So yeah,
kind of also gets lost in the sauce with the
losses and having to talk about the offense and even
special teams. So give credit where credit is due that
your two first round draft picks basically set the scene
for you to have an opportunity in this game. Because
if you if the Falcons hadn't scored before halftime and
(15:39):
it's a two possession, three possession possibly game, you feel
a lot different when the third quarter rolls around. But
that wasn't the case. I mean, that's why it was
the key moment or whatever I call it in the
grain breakdown, like it felt different, like, Okay, we still
have a game. And then in the second quarter the
defense really steps up and only allows the Patriots to
(16:01):
add three points, whereas everything else came in the first
two quarters, so you see that swing works so much
in the falcons favor.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
That's why it's also just such a shame it didn't work. Yeah,
I hate to.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Bring it back to the dull moment, but we are
still talking about a loss. It was great to have
Jalen Walker back, the stripsack and the recovery by James
Pierce Junior are being tagged in there too, the great moment.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Neither of them really cared in the locker room either.
Jalen Walker was talking.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
About how they need to fix the little details because
those add up, and you saw that in New England.
So it's just a shame that, like these big moments
aren't being celebrated because these players care so much about winning,
which is great love that they care. Shame that we
can't just celebrate and leave it at that, right.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, And I think that's a good point too, because
I mean, in the same breath of me saying that, like,
I feel like Drake London deserve to win this game.
There's a part of me that feels like the second
half defense particularly and kind of that end of half moment,
like they deserved to win this game, and I'm not
saying that the offense didn't like everybody's on You're on
(17:19):
the same team, but it's just like, it's so unfortunate
to sit here and say all of these entities deserved
a chance to beat the Patriots and that it didn't
come to fruition one thing tarran before we hit on
the Once we get to the final quarter, I did
want to ask how did the Falcons evolve their rotation
(17:41):
with j D Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison because I felt
like we saw a lot more Ronnie Harrison than we
did last year as the Falcons continue to try to
evolve not having Divine Diablo in this.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Roster, Oh for sure.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
I mean against the Dolphins, JD Bertrand was out there
for all but one defensive snap. That was definitely not
the case against the Patriots. Snapcounts haven't been released yet
as of Sunday night. I think they come out Monday
morning at some point. But so I can't speak to
exactly how often.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Jady Bertrand was on the field, but there were moments.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Where I think you turned to me and was like,
did j D Bertrand start because.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
He hadn't been out there like there was definitely more rotation.
It felt even if it was still just a committee.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Of two, it felt more by committee than it did
against the Dolphins.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Yeah, I agree, And there is our whistle bringing us
to the fourth and final quarter as we.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Look ahead, because I think that's what we need to like.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I don't really have anything else to really say about
this game. I feel like we've said everything that there
is to say. But I wrote in my column that
went up after the game that you know, there is
this con stint just reaction and losses that I think
(19:06):
a lot of people fall back to where it's like
we still have a lot of football ahead of us.
But as the weeks go on, the Falcons losses kind
of start to pile up. They've lost three of their
last four games, and it's going to be difficult to
go to Germany later this week and face the Indianapolis
(19:28):
Colts that they're coming off of a loss. I don't
know what type of Indianapolis Colts team you're gonna get
out in Germany. You could get one that's out for
blood because of this loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So
it's making I say all this because I feel like
it's making a postseason birth seem more and more difficult
to even conceptualize. If you're the Falcons, you're getting to
(19:50):
the middle point of the season. So Tarin, I know
the Bucks were on a buy this week, but I
wanted you to kind of take a look around the
NFC South and tell our listeners the kind of what
happened on Sunday with everybody else.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Right, the Buccaneers are on a bye but they're still
atop the NFC South standings with a six and two record.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
The Panthers are in second.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
They beat the Green Bay Packers today Sunday sixteen to thirteen,
so their record now stands at five and four solid.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Excuse me.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
In second, Falcons are three and five. We all know
what happened there, and then the Saints are one in eight.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
They lost thirty four to ten to the Rams.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
But the key here, what we care about is the Panthers.
In Falcons battle, the Panthers are inching away from the
Falcons because as the Falcons are losing, the Panthers are winning,
and so like the Panthers are closer to the Buccaneers
than the Falcons are to the Panthers, like six and two,
five and four, three, and five, like the Bucks and
(20:55):
Panthers are above five hundred, whereas the Falcons and Saints
are not.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
It's getting tougher. It's your the path to the playoffs
is much more.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Difficult as the other teams above. You continue to.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Win.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, it's that simple.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
And I will add the only silver lining that there
is is in I guess, like you know, it's kind
of like an I guess it depends on what you
do with these with this good news quote unquote is
that the Falcons they still have a majority of their
NFC South matchups coming after they get back from Germany
(21:34):
and face the Indianapolis Cults. So while they keep saying
that there is a lot of football left like at
the exact same time, like weeks are going by, you
can only say there's a lot of football left to
play until there's not. And right now, the Falcons are
sitting at a point where it's like it can tip
the scales because you are at a point where you're
(21:54):
gonna once you get back from Germany, things ramp up
pretty quickly in the span of like a few weeks.
But because you have the Carolina Panthers coming to town,
you face the Saints, and then I believe it's like
December tenth, like the second week of December you play
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Or at Tampa Bay on a Thursday night. So none of.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
This is it.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Ah, I was closed. I knew it was my second
week of December, so close.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
But I mean it goes to show you that, like, yes,
the Falcons still have like some some things to like
look at in terms of the NFC South standings, but
like again to your point, if the Carolina Panthers keep winning,
if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keep winning, and the Falcons
don't start getting in the wing column, like I don't
really know what else their is to.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Say, it's difficult because the Colts are doing well regardless
of what happened on Sunday. The Panthers, to be completely honest,
I don't know what's going on there.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
But they're winning. Like they've won a few things.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
You have that thirty is your blemish on the Falcons record.
And then the Carolina Panthers come to Atlanta after the
big Germany game, say the Falcons beat the Colts, you're
stunting that losing skit at four games no, three games,
my bad, three.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Games that could help coming back to Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
But then you have to stack wins, and that's what
we've been talking about since the season began. The Falcons
need to stack wins. Like you have two in a
row between the Commanders and the Bills, but there's a
bye week in between, so I don't know if I
necessarily count those as two in a row. It's complicated,
like you had a break to figure things out that
you need to stack wins if you want to make
(23:45):
the playoffs. It's kind of as simple as that. But
I think that Carolina game in Atlanta is massive now
considering how it went earlier in this season, calling it anomaly.
But now the Panthers are also kind of inching away
from you in the standings. It's difficult. And then you
go to New Orleans. Flooky things happen.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
There, they do.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
We all know that needs to be on the Falcon side.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Yeah, ultimately, ultimately it's you.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I'm looking at it like, oof, I know.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
I honestly, you make such a good point too about
stacking wins like, but at the end of the day,
like the Falcons gotta get in the wing column, just
point blank period like and get in the win column soon, know,
especially if the Bucks and the Panthers are going to
continue to surge, and that'll do it. That's our final
whistle and that'll do it. Forward this Final Whistle episode.
(24:38):
Thank you everyone for joining us. We will see you
this Friday on the Friday five as we get you
geared up for the very first regular season game in Berlin,
Germany as the Falcons face to Indianapolis Colts, a team
that actually, as we stated before, just lost their second
game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. Maybe it'll be
interesting out in Germany. I know Taryn and I are
(25:00):
looking forward to it, but we will be your boots
on the ground all week in Flowery Branch before hopping
on a very long flight across the Bond. We will
talk to you all later this week.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
THEA
World two slips.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Falcons Final
Whistle Podcast. I am Twerry mcleany, joined virtually by Tarren
walk Arran is currently still in Providence as her flight
does not leave until tomorrow morning, so we are recording
this after I flew back from Atlanta with the team.
Teraran again leaves tomorrow, so we may be a little
(00:37):
delulu as we talk about this game that we witnessed
up at Gillette Stadium earlier on Sunday. The Falcons dropped
two three and five on the year, losing their third
consecutive game to the New England Patriots, the final score
being a one point difference twenty four to twenty three
the Patriots way, the Falcons weren't without chances to win
(00:58):
this game, point blank period, and that's kind of where
I want us to start this podcast. As a reminder,
the show is split into four quarters. When our six
minute timer is up, the whistle blows and we move
on to the first topic. So, Taren, are you ready
to get this thing started?
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I am ready.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Okay, here we go. So first quarter, quarter number one.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
I want to talk about the teams miss opportunities because
I feel as though that encapsulates what this game was.
I think what I'm most frustrated by in the aftermath
of this game is that it's it's whatever. He Morris
said that, if I'm being completely honest, when he was
(01:40):
after the game, he was asked about the game, and
he said, we have to quote find a way to
win that one. And my thing is is like you
had a way, like you had multiple ways. You were
three for three in the red zone, Drake London had
a hat trick on fifty to fifty.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Balls in the end zone.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Your defense run the ball over not once but twice,
and you not six total sacks. Like all of that
in and of itself. As we're sitting there watching this
game from start to finish, it just felt like those
were the big moments. If you're looking and you're talking
to coaches and players, those are the things touchdown, sacks
and turnovers that if those things go your way, if
(02:22):
they swing your way, you're usually talking about a win.
And that's honestly, that's actually a fact. Because there is
this stat that I ran across while I was doing
kind of the rundown for this podcast that stated since
the nineteen sixty four season teams that were plus two
in turnovers and plus five in sacks won ninety six
(02:45):
point nine percent of the time.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
Those are dang good odds.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
And this team, specifically, over the course of these four quarters,
were not without chance after chance to really take this one. Taren,
I've been speaking for a long time, and I apologize
for that. But you were in the locker room post game.
What did some of these players have to say about this?
(03:12):
Because of course I'm going off of like what Raheem
Wur said in the press conference, but what did the
players say?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
No, you set the scene perfectly.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
It doesn't matter how many words it took, because all
that you said is completely true. And in the locker
room it was a somber vibe. I'm pretty sure the
word somber was used more than once. I mean, you
talked to Parker Romo and you talk about missed opportunities
and his missed point after would have tied the game,
and who knows where that game would have gone if
(03:42):
it had been tied up twenty four to twenty four.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
You don't know who would have won.
Speaker 4 (03:46):
There's missed opportunity right there, and he said nobody wanted
this win more than I did in this locker room.
He played for the Patriots in the preseason, this which.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
I forgot about, So yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
So did I because I don't really keep trying on
preseason teams.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Right, yeah, but.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
You could tell it it affected him, And.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Yeah, you have to make that.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
It's not a what someone made a sixty eight yard
field goal today, the longest in NFL history. I saw
this was a point after. You have to make that.
As you said, point blank. You had Jake Matthews being like,
this didn't feel good last week, didn't feel good, but
you can't say it was all bad, but we didn't win.
It's like you're putting caveats on everything, like.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
It wasn't bad, but they still lost. Same thing with
Drake London.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
He has three touchdowns and he goes, it's still a
lost and I don't care about any of the personal stats.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Right And I think like that's ultimately kind of where
we end up with this, is that like it doesn't
matter at the end of the day, Like, yes, the
odds are when you're looking at kind of historically, if
you have these turnovers, if you have these sacks, if
you have these touchdowns and these appearances in the red zone,
like you're gonna give it. You're not only gonna give
(05:05):
yourself the best chance to win, but you're winning those games.
And the fact of the matter is the Falcons didn't win,
and it was because of these missed opportunities. My question
to you, Teraran, because I know I know what my
answer is, but I want to ask you first, like,
which of the like missed opportunities of the game did
(05:25):
you feel like was maybe the most egregious to the
final score? H.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
I don't want to put it on this one moment
because there's so much sub led up to it, but
it has to be for me the point after Yeah,
because you had the opportunity right there to tie it
up and see what you can do, Like the first
half was eh, that you come out in the second
half and figure things out and finally get rolling.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
And get to a point where you're caught up to
the Patriots and you miss it.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
You don't get to see what the Falcons could have
done with the tide ball game.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yeah, and then it changes things because you come out
of that opportunity and you end up not doing anything
offensively thereafter. And that's what's such a hard peal to
swallow too is there were four minutes and I think
forty seconds left up and as we are talking about it,
there's our whistle. So we are moving on to the
(06:25):
second quarter where we are going to talk.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
About I mean, we have to Drake London. He had
one of the.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Best days that I think I've ever seen from him,
and I've seen a lot of good Drake London days.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
I really, I.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Don't think you could talk about this game and not
talk about Drake London. It's one of those things where
I even after the game, I was like, Drake London
alone deserved to win that game. And the fact that
ultimately we're sitting here talking about how he had nine
catches on fourteen targets, one hundred and eighteen receiving yards
and three touchdowns, yes three like.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
The hat trick.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
And honestly, some of the photos from those catches were
some of the best that I think I've seen all
season from our team photographer Jay.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
He captured all three of those.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
He was actually in every end zone that Drake caught
a touchdown pass in today, which was really actually funny,
and honestly, I put them all. I put those three
photos on my Twitter so you can check it out.
Go give Jay some love. I tagged him you care
on VP our MVP J So make sure and go
check that out. It's on my page. Attuary underscore Macalhaney.
(07:38):
But Tarn, what did you and kind of the other people,
I know you touched on this a little bit, but
what did everybody make of Drake Lennon's performance today?
Speaker 4 (07:48):
I already gave away how Drake felt not happy, doesn't
matter what kind of statistics he put up. At the
end of the day, Drake cares about wins and they
did not win. So taking him aside, other people did
recognize how great of a day he had. Raheem Morris
said he had uncommon effort. You have Jake Matthews saying
(08:09):
he's a stud. That guy does it the right way.
Prepares were a great teammate. You saw the plays he
made today. He's a great athlete.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Got to keep getting him the ball.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
And then you even have Marcus Jones from the Patriots side,
who's like his catch radius is remarkable.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
He's a lot of plays today.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
So you just literally everybody recognizing the fact that Drake
London had himself a day and it wasn't.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Enough, yeah, which is again another frustrating point of all
of this.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
And what I found to.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Be really interesting too in within these three touchdown catches,
specifically for Drake, is that it wasn't like these were
elaborate routes that he's running. It's not like this was
a you know, these these crazy things that he's being.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Asked to do. It literally is a fifty to fifty.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Ball that he's in a one on one situation against
a dB, and it's you know, it changed periodically who
he was, who he was up against. But I think
for Drake, like we talk, you talk about what even
some of the Patriots are talking about with his catch radius,
I would say, like the body, control, the ball tracking,
(09:23):
like he showcased kind of all of that in those
three moments, and I know that we you and I
like we get to see what Drake does. It's kind
of like when we talk about Pajon, Like we get
to see it all the time, and sometimes it even
surprises us a little bit of like how remarkable it
truly is. And I think like Drake's performance today just
(09:44):
got me thinking too about something that I said at
the tail end of last year and kind of like
it being a theme of the team was that there
were individual pieces of the offense and the defense that
were having career years and we're doing a lot of
really really good things, and yet the Falcons didn't make
(10:05):
it to the playoffs. And yet the Falcons weren't atop
the NFC South and yet and yet and yet. And
that's why I think like this performance from Drake. It's
just it feels very reminiscent to everything that I feel
like I said that the Falcons didn't need to be
going into this season.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
I mean, it's the epitome of the cliche. There's no
I in team and we talk about all the pieces
to the puzzle. You're not making the puzzle. You have
all the pieces, but we're not getting the full picture still.
And it's Drake London, it's but Jean Robinson, it's Jesse Bates,
it's Kaden Ellis. They're all having these career games, career seasons,
(10:49):
big moments, and they're still big losses.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yeah, that it does stink that Drake's.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Day is kind of clouded ay even in his own mind,
and you want that out of a player. You want
your players on the team to be like, I don't
care about what I did. We ultimately did not wine
and that's all that matters to me. That is exactly
what you want out of a Drake London. And yet
here we are like it's still a loss. Like we
(11:19):
can talk about Drake all we want, but for the
matter is they still lost.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Yeah, honestly, that's a good note to end on as
we hear our next whistle which sends us to halftime,
and we go to halftime wanting to thank our sponsor,
Microsoft co Pilot, which is the system that helped us
curate this halftime break stat for you guys, as that
being in the last ten seasons teams were sixty four
and oh when going to when they were when they
(11:48):
had Sorry, I'm just this status so crazy to me.
In the last ten I know, in the last ten seasons,
teams we're sixty four and oh when having two turnovers
and more and five or more sacks.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
That is, until today, sixty four and zero.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Over the last decade, if a team had more than
two turnover, two or more turnovers, or five or more sacks,
they won the game. It goes back to that very
first point that we had all the way back in
quarter one and I don't even like this stat to
me is just the epitome of what this game was
in the frustration level that I think I even have
(12:29):
about it.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
I feel like we say the record and we give
people five seconds to process it. Sixty four end? Oh
is now sixty four and one.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Yeah, So that's our halftime break, brought to you by
Microsoft co Pilot. And that brings us to the third
quarter and our third topic, which was wasn't it so
nice to get Jalen Walker back?
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Like?
Speaker 2 (12:55):
I know that there are multiple pieces that the Falcons
got back today, but it really did feel like Jalen
Walker in his presence was felt just to a very
significant magnitude for this defense tearing.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
What were his final stats?
Speaker 4 (13:13):
Remind us all, Dalen Walker had five total tackles, four
of which were solo foo sacks for a loss of
twenty six yards, and a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, yeah, not too shabby, I thought them.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
And I'll say this too, like a lot of his
big time plays came in these really clutch, got a
habit moments. So I thought the moment that absolutely solidified
that this defense as a unit was gonna keep this
game at least interesting. Was the strip sack by Jalen
and then the return to the New England six yard
line by James Pearce Junior. It led to a touchdown
(13:55):
right before halftime that kept it a one score game
instead of it maybe stretching two in out of hand territory.
If New England would have marched down the field and
even put up three more points before going into halftime,
knowing that they got the ball coming out of halftime,
I think that right there is what this defense has
kind of been missing since they lost Divine Diablo, and
(14:18):
it's kind of these these havoc plays, and so it
was nice to see not just Jalen Walker but James
Pierce Junior come together for this moment.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
I really felt like it flipped the.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Flipped the game on its head a little bit and
kind of gave the Falcons life to take this game
to ultimately what should have been a tie game at
the tail end of the fourth quarter.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
What teraren stood.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Out to you about this this defensive performance, whether it
be Jalen or James Pierce Junior or whoever, like what
stood out?
Speaker 4 (14:55):
First of all, you see your two first round draft
picks pulling this off one force of the all the
other ones scoops it and returns it Like that is
return on investment happening, live in action, Like your future
is right there and it's just fun to see because
I think it has been a minute since we talked
about the draft class because you did have injuries with
(15:17):
Jalen Walker, Billy Bowman Junior who didn't play today, So yeah,
kind of also gets lost in the sauce with the
losses and having to talk about the offense and even
special teams. So give credit where credit is due that
your two first round draft picks basically set the scene
for you to have an opportunity in this game. Because
if you if the Falcons hadn't scored before halftime and
(15:39):
it's a two possession, three possession possibly game, you feel
a lot different when the third quarter rolls around. But
that wasn't the case. I mean, that's why it was
the key moment or whatever I call it in the
grain breakdown, like it felt different, like, Okay, we still
have a game. And then in the second quarter the
defense really steps up and only allows the Patriots to
(16:01):
add three points, whereas everything else came in the first
two quarters, so you see that swing works so much
in the falcons favor.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
That's why it's also just such a shame it didn't work. Yeah,
I hate to.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
Bring it back to the dull moment, but we are
still talking about a loss. It was great to have
Jalen Walker back, the stripsack and the recovery by James
Pierce Junior are being tagged in there too, the great moment.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Neither of them really cared in the locker room either.
Jalen Walker was talking.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
About how they need to fix the little details because
those add up, and you saw that in New England.
So it's just a shame that, like these big moments
aren't being celebrated because these players care so much about winning,
which is great love that they care. Shame that we
can't just celebrate and leave it at that, right.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, And I think that's a good point too, because
I mean, in the same breath of me saying that, like,
I feel like Drake London deserve to win this game.
There's a part of me that feels like the second
half defense particularly and kind of that end of half moment,
like they deserved to win this game, and I'm not
saying that the offense didn't like everybody's on You're on
(17:19):
the same team, but it's just like, it's so unfortunate
to sit here and say all of these entities deserved
a chance to beat the Patriots and that it didn't
come to fruition one thing tarran before we hit on
the Once we get to the final quarter, I did
want to ask how did the Falcons evolve their rotation
(17:41):
with j D Bertrand and Ronnie Harrison because I felt
like we saw a lot more Ronnie Harrison than we
did last year as the Falcons continue to try to
evolve not having Divine Diablo in this.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Roster, Oh for sure.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
I mean against the Dolphins, JD Bertrand was out there
for all but one defensive snap. That was definitely not
the case against the Patriots. Snapcounts haven't been released yet
as of Sunday night. I think they come out Monday
morning at some point. But so I can't speak to
exactly how often.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Jady Bertrand was on the field, but there were moments.
Speaker 4 (18:19):
Where I think you turned to me and was like,
did j D Bertrand start because.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
He hadn't been out there like there was definitely more rotation.
It felt even if it was still just a committee.
Speaker 4 (18:29):
Of two, it felt more by committee than it did
against the Dolphins.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
Yeah, I agree, And there is our whistle bringing us
to the fourth and final quarter as we.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Look ahead, because I think that's what we need to like.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I don't really have anything else to really say about
this game. I feel like we've said everything that there
is to say. But I wrote in my column that
went up after the game that you know, there is
this con stint just reaction and losses that I think
(19:06):
a lot of people fall back to where it's like
we still have a lot of football ahead of us.
But as the weeks go on, the Falcons losses kind
of start to pile up. They've lost three of their
last four games, and it's going to be difficult to
go to Germany later this week and face the Indianapolis
(19:28):
Colts that they're coming off of a loss. I don't
know what type of Indianapolis Colts team you're gonna get
out in Germany. You could get one that's out for
blood because of this loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. So
it's making I say all this because I feel like
it's making a postseason birth seem more and more difficult
to even conceptualize. If you're the Falcons, you're getting to
(19:50):
the middle point of the season. So Tarin, I know
the Bucks were on a buy this week, but I
wanted you to kind of take a look around the
NFC South and tell our listeners the kind of what
happened on Sunday with everybody else.
Speaker 4 (20:04):
Right, the Buccaneers are on a bye but they're still
atop the NFC South standings with a six and two record.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
The Panthers are in second.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
They beat the Green Bay Packers today Sunday sixteen to thirteen,
so their record now stands at five and four solid.
Speaker 1 (20:20):
Excuse me.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
In second, Falcons are three and five. We all know
what happened there, and then the Saints are one in eight.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
They lost thirty four to ten to the Rams.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
But the key here, what we care about is the Panthers.
In Falcons battle, the Panthers are inching away from the
Falcons because as the Falcons are losing, the Panthers are winning,
and so like the Panthers are closer to the Buccaneers
than the Falcons are to the Panthers, like six and two,
five and four, three, and five, like the Bucks and
(20:55):
Panthers are above five hundred, whereas the Falcons and Saints
are not.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
It's getting tougher. It's your the path to the playoffs
is much more.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
Difficult as the other teams above. You continue to.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Win.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Yeah, it's that simple.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
And I will add the only silver lining that there
is is in I guess, like you know, it's kind
of like an I guess it depends on what you
do with these with this good news quote unquote is
that the Falcons they still have a majority of their
NFC South matchups coming after they get back from Germany
(21:34):
and face the Indianapolis Cults. So while they keep saying
that there is a lot of football left like at
the exact same time, like weeks are going by, you
can only say there's a lot of football left to
play until there's not. And right now, the Falcons are
sitting at a point where it's like it can tip
the scales because you are at a point where you're
(21:54):
gonna once you get back from Germany, things ramp up
pretty quickly in the span of like a few weeks.
But because you have the Carolina Panthers coming to town,
you face the Saints, and then I believe it's like
December tenth, like the second week of December you play
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Or at Tampa Bay on a Thursday night. So none of.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
This is it.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Ah, I was closed. I knew it was my second
week of December, so close.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
But I mean it goes to show you that, like, yes,
the Falcons still have like some some things to like
look at in terms of the NFC South standings, but
like again to your point, if the Carolina Panthers keep winning,
if the Tampa Bay Buccaneers keep winning, and the Falcons
don't start getting in the wing column, like I don't
really know what else their is to.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Say, it's difficult because the Colts are doing well regardless
of what happened on Sunday. The Panthers, to be completely honest,
I don't know what's going on there.
Speaker 1 (22:54):
But they're winning. Like they've won a few things.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
You have that thirty is your blemish on the Falcons record.
And then the Carolina Panthers come to Atlanta after the
big Germany game, say the Falcons beat the Colts, you're
stunting that losing skit at four games no, three games,
my bad, three.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Games that could help coming back to Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
But then you have to stack wins, and that's what
we've been talking about since the season began. The Falcons
need to stack wins. Like you have two in a
row between the Commanders and the Bills, but there's a
bye week in between, so I don't know if I
necessarily count those as two in a row. It's complicated,
like you had a break to figure things out that
you need to stack wins if you want to make
(23:45):
the playoffs. It's kind of as simple as that. But
I think that Carolina game in Atlanta is massive now
considering how it went earlier in this season, calling it anomaly.
But now the Panthers are also kind of inching away
from you in the standings. It's difficult. And then you
go to New Orleans. Flooky things happen.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
There, they do.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
We all know that needs to be on the Falcon side.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Yeah, ultimately, ultimately it's you.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I'm looking at it like, oof, I know.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
I honestly, you make such a good point too about
stacking wins like, but at the end of the day,
like the Falcons gotta get in the wing column, just
point blank period like and get in the win column soon, know,
especially if the Bucks and the Panthers are going to
continue to surge, and that'll do it. That's our final
whistle and that'll do it. Forward this Final Whistle episode.
(24:38):
Thank you everyone for joining us. We will see you
this Friday on the Friday five as we get you
geared up for the very first regular season game in Berlin,
Germany as the Falcons face to Indianapolis Colts, a team
that actually, as we stated before, just lost their second
game against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday. Maybe it'll be
interesting out in Germany. I know Taryn and I are
(25:00):
looking forward to it, but we will be your boots
on the ground all week in Flowery Branch before hopping
on a very long flight across the Bond. We will
talk to you all later this week.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
THEA
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