October 20, 2025 • 29 mins
The Atlanta Falcons fall 20-10 to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday Night Football, and Will McFadden and Tori McElhaney are here to break it all down. From what went wrong in the running game to why the Falcons were only able to score one touchdown, they share what they saw in Santa Clara and how the Falcons can turn things around moving forward.
0:00 - Is the sky falling?
6:30 - Run game sputters
12:41 - Halftime stats
13:31 - Offensive inefficiencies
19:55 - Make it a learning experience
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mile two to the kind of you gonna slip its
Falcons fans, what's up? And welcome back to Falcons Final Whistle.
The Atlanta Falcons unfortunately drops their third game of the season,
(00:22):
falling on the road twenty to ten to the San
Francisco forty nine ers. They are now three and three. Uh,
they're two game win streak ended at two and honestly,
there's I've seen a lot of reaction from the fan
base that I want to get to here. But if
you're new to the show, if you're new to Falcons
Final Whistle, here's how it all works. We have four quarters.
(00:45):
Each quarter is going to take six minutes. At the
end of each quarter, you're gonna hear a whistle, which
means we've got to move on to the next quarter
because this is a road game. Tory mclaney are, a trepid,
excellent reporter, is on location in San Francisco. She so
she is gonna call in and join me for the
second and third quarters. I'm gonna hitch you up top
with my thoughts for the game, and then our producer
(01:07):
Jared is gonna join me for the fourth and final quarter.
Got it? Get it good? Let's move on to quarter
number one. I really I've seen a lot of reaction
kind of after the game about that this is an
inexcusable loss, X, Y, and Z along those same lines,
And yes, I get that this is a very demoralizing
(01:27):
loss right after the highs of the Buffalo Bills and
then going on the road and kind of beating your
chest and thumping your chest as hey, we are back
in the NFC, look out for the Atlanta Falcons, and
then to go up against another NFC contender in the
San Francisco forty nine ers, you feel like it's toe
to toe. We're gonna come in, We're gonna beat you
(01:47):
in your house and kind of stake our claim that
we are here as contenders. So I totally understand the
disappointment that you didn't do it, because I'm disappointed too, right,
I think everybody should be. This is a a little
bit of a letdown because it was the opportunity for
you to kind of fully deprove and say, without beyond
(02:07):
the shadow of a doubt, this is a different Falcons group.
I still believe that it is a different Falcons group.
I don't believe it's an inexcusable loss, because I kind
of think that the way that San Francisco played you
in this game tells you that this is a team
to be taken seriously. Like this, the forty nine ers
(02:28):
have been to the NFC Championship game what two or
three times over the last five years, they've been to
the Super Bowl. They are a very good team with
very good players who have playoff aspirations and more. Right, so,
these are the types of games you should be playing in,
and also these are the types of games that you
have to learn how to win, because a team like
(02:49):
the forty nine Ers is not going to allow you
to hand the ball off to Bajan Robinson all day long.
They are going to key on your run game and
holds you to sixty two yards rushing on the night.
So what do you have to do? You have to
then adjust, You have to go to your other outlets,
because again, if you're going to be playing in these
types of games and winning in these types of games,
(03:11):
you sometimes have to win ugly. And that to me
is kind of the the key takeaway from this one
is that the Falcons just need to learn how to
kind of get down in the muck with everybody else.
It's something that they showed I think in Week one
a little bit too against Tampa is they can't do this,
(03:31):
but can they sustain it for long enough to really
truly take and absorb those shots, give them back and
keep moving forward even when there are some stepbacks and
even when everything is not working perfectly. I kind of
thought the way they got Kyle Pitts involved in this
game was a big step forward, right and I early
(03:52):
on I was like, this is amazing. This is exactly
what I am talking about. Is that all right, They're
going to take away Bajehan Robinson, They're going to take
away Drake London a little bit. I thought the coverage
for San Francisco was very tight all night long. They
were really jamming the receiver. They were almost kind of
doing to Atlanta what Buffalo or what Atlanta was doing
to Buffalo, which is bringing a lot of pressure, which
(04:14):
I'm not necessarily sure is the San Francisco forty nine
ersm so far this year under Robert Solo. So I
think that was a little bit new. We knew Atlanta
was the most blitz happy team coming into this game
in the league. Not so sure that the forty nine
ers were so wrinkles right, differences in what you expect,
and again that is why I think ultimately it was
(04:36):
kind of a testament to what this Atlanta team is
capable of. But they have to learn from this type
of game. They have to learn how to win when
things are not going right, when you lose a divine
diablo early on in the game, and it was very
clear the impact that he made. If anybody has any
more reservations about how important divine diabolo is, you got
(05:00):
rid of them tonight. Right. So, Kate Nellis played great.
I thought. I thought the secondary for the most part
played pretty well. George Kittle didn't have a catch even
though he was coming back. Realistically, it comes down to
a few things. It comes down to the inability to
consistently defend the run, which gets harder to do the
(05:20):
longer that you keep the game in the balance or
you are behind. And it came down to your inability
to set up your offense, which mostly funnels through the run.
And because the forty nine ers were able to effectively
never thought I'd say this take John Robinson away a
little bit. Atlanta just didn't have a consistent counter and
(05:42):
Drake London has been awesome in that mold moving forward.
Kyle Pitts, I thought again was really good tonight, and
Darnel Mooney is working his way back. So I do
think the Falcons, as Michael Pennock Junior said after the game,
they've got the talent in place they can do this.
They just kind of, I think, have to learn how to.
And I do think that involves the entire offense. I
think it involves the scheme, some of the play calls
(06:05):
in the red zone, execution, all of that. So this
is something that I do think the Falcons need to
learn from. Do I think the sky is falling? By
no means is the sky falling. So that's kind of
my overall thought on the big picture of tonight's game.
It's a disappointing loss for sure, twenty to ten. But
we're going to get into more of the specifics with
(06:26):
Tory mclaney right now in our second quarter live from
San Francisco. Tory, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I've been better? I think.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
That's that's very fair, all right, So we wanted to
talk a little bit about just the falcons inability to
run the ball tonight. I think it's surprised both of
us from different coasts. You know, I could just feel
the energy, the vibe coming off of you. You were
a little disappointed in the Falcons run game tonight.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
You know why, Well, I think that you have an
opportunity to really do something special after what Jon Robinson
did on Monday Night Football, and then to see that
they come out and they only average three point one
yards per carry on twenty carries, and the fact that
Jean Robinson only averaged two point nine yards per carry
(07:14):
the longest he the longest run he had was eight yards.
I mean, this is not the calling card of what
this offense is and what they want to do. And
it just goes to show, like what happens when the
Falcons run game in their offense is not firing on
all cylinders. It's very reminiscent of what that Tampa Bay
(07:35):
game in Week one ultimately was. And so I think
for that reason, it's why you really really know that
this offense relies heavily on Jon Robinson being the engine
for it, and so when that engine is not chugging,
it causes problems.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Absolutely, Yeah, And I thought kind of in particular, it
was interesting the run game outside of the tackles, which
has been such a strength for Atlanta's offense, really was
shut down tonight by San Francisco's defense. You know, I
saw a next gen stat after the game. Jean Robinson
had three hundred and ninety yards on outside runs coming
(08:12):
into this game. He had thirty four yards on twelve
carries tonight. So that right there kind of shows you.
You know, Jake Matthews coming into this game banged up, right,
it was in question whether or not he was going
to make his you know, active streak record setting one
hundred and eighty fourth career start. He did. But you know,
(08:32):
when you have a number like that in a stall
like that, for a player as explosive and as dangerous
on the edges as for Jean Robinson, you know, you
wonder if that injury and then you know, Elijah Wilkinson
on the other side, enters the season as kind of
third on the depth chart, if that took its toll tonight.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, And I think that it's only heightened, Like the
falcons inability to run the ball is only heightened by
the fact that the forty nine ers had absolutely no
trouble running the ball like Christian McCaffrey ends with almost
one hundred and already total rushing yards. And I think
like when you go into a game where the entire
conversation and narrative around the game is it's the Bajon
Robinson versus Christian McCaffrey showdown, and Jon coming off of
(09:13):
what he did Monday night, I mean, it's it really
only heightens the falcons inability to do much of anything
running the ball at all. And I mean it just
was there was never a point in time where it
felt like anything was easy for them, whether it was
throwing the ball, whether it was running the ball. There
there was no point in time in those four quarters
where I felt like, oh, they've got something going and
(09:34):
they're moving the ball. Well, maybe outside of that one
touchdown scoring drive, but where they got the ball, you know,
at midfield after the Jamal Agnew returned. But I think
other than that, it was just it never felt easy.
And I mean, I guess you do have to give
credit to Robert Salla and this defense for showing up
and having a game plan and attacking the Falcons and
(09:57):
taking away their strength. But if you're the Falcons and
you know that you want to be. They've never made
it a secret. They're like, we're gonna run the ball.
We're a run first team, and so when that is
completely taken away, this is kind of what happens. And again,
it just feels very reminiscent to that Week one Tampa
game where the Falcons run game was almost completely taken away.
(10:22):
I believe Jean Robinson average two point nine yards per
carrying that game as well.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah, it is crazy the parallels kind of between both
of those and when Atlanta's run game again in a
weird way, you saw kind of I think what Atlanta
is going for in the way San Francisco played tonight,
right where you have a stout defense and we'll get
to San Francisco's defense, I think a little bit more
in the third quarter, because they did some things that
were surprising to me. But they also kind of did
(10:50):
just the number one thing on the most obvious list,
which is shut down the run game. And when Atlanta's
run game is not able to really get going, you
see how it kind of boggs down the rest of
the offense. Were you surprised that it bogged down just
as much as it as it did on Sunday night.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yeah, I was, I think because you know, we've seen
the Falcons do kind of some really good things to
get some bloated boxes recently, whether it be the Buffalo
Bills or the Washington Commanders, Like, those were two defenses
that definitely wanted to take the runaway, but the Falcons
were able to run the ball even when they were
actively trying to do that, Whereas today against the forty
(11:29):
nine Ers, it felt like, I don't know, I don't
necessarily think the I don't think there was a Here's
the thing is, like, I ultimately, when I look at
this offensive performance, I can't just put it on like
one singular thing as to why the Falcons only scored
ten points today. It really did feel like a microcosm
like the entire unit not blocking well up front, the
(11:53):
run game not manifesting some miscues on Michael Pennock's junior's part.
I mean, there were just so many different avenues of
this offense that weren't clicking and weren't firing on all cylinders.
And I think that's ultimately kind of like and when
you can't rely on the one thing that you're so
used to relying on and feel so good about your
(12:15):
bread and butter. Like what happened tonight is kind of
indicative of that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Yeah, absolutely, all right, Well that is our whistle, and
you are going to run off and talk to Michael
Pennix next. I believe he's going to take the podium
here soon, so we will touch base with you again,
Toy for the third quarter to kind of talk a
little bit more about the offense and hear what Michael
Pennix Junior had to say.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Awesome, sounds good. I'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Today's halftime is brought to you by Microsoft co Pilot,
which helps us create this incredible outline for today's podcast.
Microsoft co Pilot stat for You has to do with pressure.
Michael Pennix was pressured eleven times on forty two dropbacks
Sunday night. He did not complete one of his nine
passes while under pressure, and he was sacked twice. However,
on the flip side, when he was not pressured, he
(13:03):
was twenty one of twenty nine for two hundred and
forty one yards and a touchdown. So I think it
was a smart move by Robert Solid of pressure the
Falcons as much as he did. I do think it
is something that Michael Pennix will learn from and this
offense will ultimately be better because of it. But it
worked out for the forty nine Ers tonight, and ultimately
the defense for San Francisco got the better of Atlanta's offense.
(13:25):
So that is our halftime stat brought to you by
Microsoft Copilot. We will see you in the third quarter.
We are back with Tory mclanney for the third quarter. Tory,
you just heard from Michael Pennox Junior. Can you briefly
tell us what he had to say, just kind of
about the offensive performance tonight.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I think the main point of what he said and
was kind of this idea of the Falcons have too
many good players on this team to not find a
way to win games. I agree, And I kind of
asked the question of like, well, what were the forty
nine ers doing to take away the run? And he
kind of was like, you know, they did take away
(14:03):
the run, but we should be able to do things
outside of the run to score points. And I think
like he talked about misopportunities, he talked about kind of
like wanting to be better holistically and this this offense
ultimately not scoring and not capitalizing in the moments and
in the time periods that they ultimately needed to because
(14:26):
like what he said, he was like, we were not
without opportunities, we were not without moments to capitalize on
and put points on the board.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
So because of that.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It was kind of this it goes back to what
I was even saying in the last quarter, where it's
like a holistic thing of like, there were a lot
of issues offensively that happened in this in these four
quarters tonight that created this kind of perfect storm for
this offense to to not do what they do best. Also, sorry,
(14:58):
if you're hearing like all this be it noise, everybody's
packing up to go get on the bush.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
That is okay. We will deal with some ambient noise
if it means we get some on location reporting from
one of the best reporters on the Falcons beat.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
So oh stop.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
So yeah, I do agree. I mean I think that
you see what the Falcons want to be in a
weird way. It's kind of like what the forty nine
ers were tonight and the march down the field nineteen
plays kind of at the end of the first quarter
leading into the beginning of the second quarter. I think
was indicative of not just Atlanta's performance tonight, but a
little bit of their performance so far this season through
(15:39):
seven weeks, and you just you have this clock eating
melting drive where you're doing a little bit of everything. Yeah,
you're getting some penalties that extend drives, but this is
the NFL. It's found to happen. And they were running
the ball, they were mixing in the past, Michael Pennix
was going and then you just kind of get down
across the fifty and down closer to the red zone
(16:00):
and in the red zone, and it all starts to
bog down a little bit, and ultimately you come away
with just a field goal when you were very well
poised to make it an early seven and nothing lead,
and you start to kind of like make the game
move in your favor like they did against Buffalo. What
what did you see there? And why has it been
so hard for Atlanta to kind of score in the
(16:21):
red zone? Do you think this season?
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I don't know. I think it goes back to actually
something I know that's you know, amazing analysis. I don't know,
but I think think it goes back to something that
Zach Robinson said. I believe it was after the Minnesota
Vikings game, where again the Falcons struggled to score. They
didn't struggle to move the ball twenty yard line to
(16:43):
twenty yard line, but once they kind of got in
in the red zone, they couldn't punch it in essentially.
And I believe he kind of said, you know, we
need to be better on first and second down to
put us in more manageable third down situations. And there
are a lot of times today that I felt that
I felt like because it all stems again from the
falcons inability to run the ball. Because they weren't able
(17:05):
to pick up four or five yards on first or
second down. They were in what felt like more middle
of the range third downs, if not third and longs tonight.
And I think that that makes things a lot more difficult.
When you shrink the field and you do get closer
and closer to the end zone, because then you're the
(17:26):
way a defense plays you, it also shrinks the field
for them and it takes away the quote unquote explosive play.
And so I think that that's where the Falcons are
kind of getting.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Hung up a little bit.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
And I mean, I also think that that one drive
that you're talking about which was like a nineteen play
drive that only resulted in enough field goal, and the
field goal was the nineteenth play of that drive. Like,
so eighteen plays and you don't come away with points,
Like there was like this kind of demoralizing feeling when
you don't do that. It's demoralizing for or the offense.
(18:01):
It's also demoralizing for a defense to kind of be.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Like, yo, like we gotta get.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
The ball back, like or we turn the ball over.
It's it's like and didn't. Yeah, it kind of becomes
this like for a whole team, it becomes really a
difficult moment when you don't punch the ball in and
get a touchdown. So ultimately, like what does this mean
for the Falcons? I think this is a trend that
(18:29):
the Falcons have shown over the course of seven six
games that it's like, hey, when they are losing games,
and even sometimes when they're winning games, a key issue
that is reigned supreme for six games is the inability
to punch the ball into the end zone to the
degree and to the clip.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You need to absolutely and that has been in my opinion,
that's kind of like the number one thing they need
to get cleaned up if they're gonna evolve into a
playoff team in the NFC really quickly. Tori did what
am I Michael Pennix have to say about kind of
right before halftime the intentional grounding call and Oraheem said
coming out of the half he thought there would be
one second left on the clock. What did Mike say afterwards?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Mike really just kind of said, like I was just
trying not to take a sack in that situation and
you know, not getting the team out of field goal
range or anything like that, Like that's what mindset was.
So I think like he didn't even realize when he
threw the ball away, like, oh, I'm not out of
the tackle box, And I think like that's the gist
that that he said in one note I'll leave you
(19:32):
on before I go and run to the bus. The
Falcons have only scored one touchdown in their last six quarters,
and that is not who this offense wants to be.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
No, certainly not the way that they came out against Buffalo.
But thank you so much Tory for taking the time.
Go grab that bus and I will see you, probably
not right in early Tuesday, I'll see you late in
the afternoon. On Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Here you go, I'll see you.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Then there goes Tory and incomes our producer Jared Jared
call Is joining me. Jared, what was your just like
really quick or overall thoughts on tonight's game expectations going
in off of the Buffalo win, and then kind of
your evaluation of just the performance tonight.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
I was really surprised coming into the game that San
Francisco was favored, because I thought the talking for picking
up steam, I thought we looked really good against Buffalo.
San Francisco has been kind of in this like limbo
with all their injuries, and so I was like, yeah,
you know, feeling pretty good coming into this game. But
very soon the game proved to be a very different
kind of game than the Falcons are used to winning.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Lately.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
It's been a lot of quick starts, a lot of
not necessarily shootout games, but high scoring games, and this
one from you know, right off the bat, we were
talking before the show. First quarter was over in like
forty five minutes. It felt like this was going to
be just a low scoring slug fest, and I think
it kind of caught the Falcons by surprise, and they
weren't able to weren't quite able to get up off
(20:56):
the mat after those first couple of drives didn't end
up at any points.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think it's similar to me in
that it's like kind of the Week one game over again,
where I felt like that Tampa and Atlanta in that
game were very similarly matched, kind of playing a grind
it out style. But in that game, I thought Atlanta
was the better team and that they lost the game
(21:23):
obviously kind of had the chance to take it in overtime,
you missed the kick there. They lost the game because
of like some shoot yourself in the foot moments. In
this one, I did feel San Francisco was the better team,
particularly just because of the way their offense was able
to get it going. I don't think Atlanta's defense played
poorly by any means, but I think that that was
(21:44):
the difference there in this one. So it's kind of like,
to your point, Atlanta, like, to be a playoff team,
you have to win some of these close games, and
they're the close games exist every week in the NFL.
The Falcons are not, you know, unique to this. So
I think I saw a stat today where's it's like
the Arizona Cardinals are two and five and have lost
(22:04):
their five games by a combined thirteen points. Right, So,
if you're an Arizona fan, you're like, you feel like
the season's over and it's insane how little the margin is.
That is the margin though in the league, and that's
where the Falcons kind of that next obstacle for them
is you've seen them get up for these big games.
(22:24):
Now it's learning how to win the tough games that
you're not necessarily up for, or that the other team
is maybe just as up for and has a great
game plan for you. Right, So, can you play left handed?
Because that ultimately, I think the forty nine ers gave
the Falcons a great sign of respect here in that, like,
they kind of brought a really good game plan in
(22:47):
this game. Their players were locked in. They wanted to
make Atlanta have to play left handed, and if you're
not a good team, I don't think that's always the
game plan, right, Like, so you kind of saw it
felt in a weird way, a little playoff ee tonight,
even though I don't think either team is close to
a playoff version of themselves, right, right.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
One hundred percent, And I totally know what you're saying,
and I think in that way that this is a
great learning experience for this young Atlanta Falcons team. You
got to learn, hey, Bjon Robinson has been absolutely carrying
this team right that There's been a lot of performance
from Mike Pennix junior, from Drake London, Kyle Pitts has
been in the mix a lot, but this offense has
revolved around Bjon Robinson and today he has what was it,
(23:32):
six receptions on eight targets, fourteen carries for like forty yards.
This is this is a game where like San Francisco's
defense was keenan Bejon all night long. They took him
away and they forced the Falcons to beat him with
their other weapons and they weren't able to do so.
And so I think the fact that you're getting this
game in Week seven, with a lot of football left
(23:54):
to play in this season, this could mean a lot
coming down for all these young players learning, Hey, this
is what we need to do when we're getting blitzed
out the wall Zoo in the fourth quarter and we
need two scores to get back into this game. This
is gonna be a great learning experience moving forward.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Absolutely. Yeah, So let's talk about moving forward. I said
in the lead up to the Bills game, Hey, good
teams don't lose back to back games, right, So the
Falcons have a great chance to rebound on tap against
a Miami Dolphins team that is reeling maybe as much
as any in the league. Right. So again, this being
the NFL, any team on any Sunday can beat you.
(24:31):
But we're turning back home against these Miami Dolphins. Yeah,
I would expect the Falcons to really be locked in
for this game, to get one at home, because Jared,
the stretch after that. At one point, you know, looking
at the schedule when you get it in, what is
that may like this stretch probably felt like the most
(24:51):
attainable for Atlanta. Now, all of a sudden, I'm looking
at after Miami, you've got the New England Patriots and
you've got the Indianapolis Colts, both of which are on
the road. Those are two of the best teams in
the NFL. And then you get back home for a
revenge game against Carolina Panthers. But it's not gonna be
so easy because you're coming back from Berlin. So what
do you make Jared of the Falcons kind of next
(25:11):
four games, And how important is it for the offense
to learn some of the lessons from tonight, Like.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
You said, it's it's gonna be really tough.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
You really need to learn your lessons here because, like
you said, this Dolphins team is reeling. This Dolphins s
team is not gonna be able to make you play
left handed.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
As you say, again, this is the NFL. Any given Sunday,
anything can happen.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
But it doesn't feel like the Falcons are going to
be put to the test like they work tonight against
the Dolphins. But maybe you want that because then you
have to go on the road to New England, right
you said, to Germany. And the fact that you have
to go on the road to New England and then
over to Germany to play the Colts and then back
home with no extra rest.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
There's no mini buy for like a Thursday or a
Monday game. These are all just bang bang bang back
to back.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
So you really hope that this team, this coaching staff
can learn from this forty nine ers game, put those
things into practice against the Dolphins, get some momentum going
into that three game stretch, and then you know, on
the other side, you really hope you went too, and
one you definitely have to come out at least at
the very worst, you have to come out two and
two out of these next four games against the Dolphins, Patriots, Calts,
(26:22):
and Panthers.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, I guess if there is. You know, it's funny.
I feel like every year we get the schedule and
it's it's kind of like, oh, the Falcons have one
of the easiest schedules in the league, and then by
the time we're like in the thick of it or
we're wrapping up and looking back at it, it's wound
up to be one of the most difficult because it's
always there's like two or three teams in the league
to come out of nowhere and surprise everybody. And I
(26:44):
always feel like they're on the Falcons schedule. And this
year there are two of your next three opponents in
the Patriots and the Colts, but like, in a weird way,
the next three being against AFC teams like that. I
want to kind of into that. But when you have
three losses already, you gotta start winning them all. But
(27:05):
if the Falcons do take a little bit of time
to kind of like something finds their footing and then
maybe a step back and then a step forward, like
at least these three weeks are not in your conference
and you can maybe get some things corrected because your
final five games are all NFC games and they're going
to be tough as well. So if the Falcons can
(27:27):
just kind of like tread water and maybe do a
reverse of what they did last year where you really
catch fire over the last home stretch, I mean, that's
what worked in twenty sixteen, It's what worked in twenty seventeen,
Like those are your playoff years that you look back on.
That's what I think Atlanta's got to be going for.
But it really does I think start with the offense.
How surprised were you at this offense performance tonight?
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Frankly, I was very surprised.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
It was very surprising not to see Bjohn do everything
that he has done like this entire season.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
I'm really.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
This This offense needs to figure out how to score touchdowns.
That's I mean, like you said earlier, you've got to
figure out how to not shoot yourself in the foot.
There's there's too many times where you take an intentional
grounded before halftime, you get two penalties back to back
that take you out of field goal range and you
got to punt the ball that that's happening way too
many times.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
For this team.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
They're very correctable mistakes, but you need you need to
figure it out because it's it's go time.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Like you said, all.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Right, it's go time. That is our final whistle, So
it's time for us to go. For Tory mclaney to
Jared paul I am Will McFadden, please keep your eyes
field poor Atlanta or to Atlanta Falcons dot com. Throughout
the week, we'll have all the coverage about this team,
the corrections they're going to make, everything like that. Stay
tuned for Dalton's Audible coming to you midweek, and then
(28:49):
we got our Friday five coming to you on a Friday.
So again, for everybody on this show, thank you so
much for listening, and we will see you next time.
Mile two to the kind of you gonna slip its
Falcons fans, what's up? And welcome back to Falcons Final Whistle.
The Atlanta Falcons unfortunately drops their third game of the season,
(00:22):
falling on the road twenty to ten to the San
Francisco forty nine ers. They are now three and three. Uh,
they're two game win streak ended at two and honestly,
there's I've seen a lot of reaction from the fan
base that I want to get to here. But if
you're new to the show, if you're new to Falcons
Final Whistle, here's how it all works. We have four quarters.
(00:45):
Each quarter is going to take six minutes. At the
end of each quarter, you're gonna hear a whistle, which
means we've got to move on to the next quarter
because this is a road game. Tory mclaney are, a trepid,
excellent reporter, is on location in San Francisco. She so
she is gonna call in and join me for the
second and third quarters. I'm gonna hitch you up top
with my thoughts for the game, and then our producer
(01:07):
Jared is gonna join me for the fourth and final quarter.
Got it? Get it good? Let's move on to quarter
number one. I really I've seen a lot of reaction
kind of after the game about that this is an
inexcusable loss, X, Y, and Z along those same lines,
And yes, I get that this is a very demoralizing
(01:27):
loss right after the highs of the Buffalo Bills and
then going on the road and kind of beating your
chest and thumping your chest as hey, we are back
in the NFC, look out for the Atlanta Falcons, and
then to go up against another NFC contender in the
San Francisco forty nine ers, you feel like it's toe
to toe. We're gonna come in, We're gonna beat you
(01:47):
in your house and kind of stake our claim that
we are here as contenders. So I totally understand the
disappointment that you didn't do it, because I'm disappointed too, right,
I think everybody should be. This is a a little
bit of a letdown because it was the opportunity for
you to kind of fully deprove and say, without beyond
(02:07):
the shadow of a doubt, this is a different Falcons group.
I still believe that it is a different Falcons group.
I don't believe it's an inexcusable loss, because I kind
of think that the way that San Francisco played you
in this game tells you that this is a team
to be taken seriously. Like this, the forty nine ers
(02:28):
have been to the NFC Championship game what two or
three times over the last five years, they've been to
the Super Bowl. They are a very good team with
very good players who have playoff aspirations and more. Right, so,
these are the types of games you should be playing in,
and also these are the types of games that you
have to learn how to win, because a team like
(02:49):
the forty nine Ers is not going to allow you
to hand the ball off to Bajan Robinson all day long.
They are going to key on your run game and
holds you to sixty two yards rushing on the night.
So what do you have to do? You have to
then adjust, You have to go to your other outlets,
because again, if you're going to be playing in these
types of games and winning in these types of games,
(03:11):
you sometimes have to win ugly. And that to me
is kind of the the key takeaway from this one
is that the Falcons just need to learn how to
kind of get down in the muck with everybody else.
It's something that they showed I think in Week one
a little bit too against Tampa is they can't do this,
(03:31):
but can they sustain it for long enough to really
truly take and absorb those shots, give them back and
keep moving forward even when there are some stepbacks and
even when everything is not working perfectly. I kind of
thought the way they got Kyle Pitts involved in this
game was a big step forward, right and I early
(03:52):
on I was like, this is amazing. This is exactly
what I am talking about. Is that all right, They're
going to take away Bajehan Robinson, They're going to take
away Drake London a little bit. I thought the coverage
for San Francisco was very tight all night long. They
were really jamming the receiver. They were almost kind of
doing to Atlanta what Buffalo or what Atlanta was doing
to Buffalo, which is bringing a lot of pressure, which
(04:14):
I'm not necessarily sure is the San Francisco forty nine
ersm so far this year under Robert Solo. So I
think that was a little bit new. We knew Atlanta
was the most blitz happy team coming into this game
in the league. Not so sure that the forty nine
ers were so wrinkles right, differences in what you expect,
and again that is why I think ultimately it was
(04:36):
kind of a testament to what this Atlanta team is
capable of. But they have to learn from this type
of game. They have to learn how to win when
things are not going right, when you lose a divine
diablo early on in the game, and it was very
clear the impact that he made. If anybody has any
more reservations about how important divine diabolo is, you got
(05:00):
rid of them tonight. Right. So, Kate Nellis played great.
I thought. I thought the secondary for the most part
played pretty well. George Kittle didn't have a catch even
though he was coming back. Realistically, it comes down to
a few things. It comes down to the inability to
consistently defend the run, which gets harder to do the
(05:20):
longer that you keep the game in the balance or
you are behind. And it came down to your inability
to set up your offense, which mostly funnels through the run.
And because the forty nine ers were able to effectively
never thought I'd say this take John Robinson away a
little bit. Atlanta just didn't have a consistent counter and
(05:42):
Drake London has been awesome in that mold moving forward.
Kyle Pitts, I thought again was really good tonight, and
Darnel Mooney is working his way back. So I do
think the Falcons, as Michael Pennock Junior said after the game,
they've got the talent in place they can do this.
They just kind of, I think, have to learn how to.
And I do think that involves the entire offense. I
think it involves the scheme, some of the play calls
(06:05):
in the red zone, execution, all of that. So this
is something that I do think the Falcons need to
learn from. Do I think the sky is falling? By
no means is the sky falling. So that's kind of
my overall thought on the big picture of tonight's game.
It's a disappointing loss for sure, twenty to ten. But
we're going to get into more of the specifics with
(06:26):
Tory mclaney right now in our second quarter live from
San Francisco. Tory, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I've been better? I think.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
That's that's very fair, all right, So we wanted to
talk a little bit about just the falcons inability to
run the ball tonight. I think it's surprised both of
us from different coasts. You know, I could just feel
the energy, the vibe coming off of you. You were
a little disappointed in the Falcons run game tonight.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
You know why, Well, I think that you have an
opportunity to really do something special after what Jon Robinson
did on Monday Night Football, and then to see that
they come out and they only average three point one
yards per carry on twenty carries, and the fact that
Jean Robinson only averaged two point nine yards per carry
(07:14):
the longest he the longest run he had was eight yards.
I mean, this is not the calling card of what
this offense is and what they want to do. And
it just goes to show, like what happens when the
Falcons run game in their offense is not firing on
all cylinders. It's very reminiscent of what that Tampa Bay
(07:35):
game in Week one ultimately was. And so I think
for that reason, it's why you really really know that
this offense relies heavily on Jon Robinson being the engine
for it, and so when that engine is not chugging,
it causes problems.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Absolutely, Yeah, And I thought kind of in particular, it
was interesting the run game outside of the tackles, which
has been such a strength for Atlanta's offense, really was
shut down tonight by San Francisco's defense. You know, I
saw a next gen stat after the game. Jean Robinson
had three hundred and ninety yards on outside runs coming
(08:12):
into this game. He had thirty four yards on twelve
carries tonight. So that right there kind of shows you.
You know, Jake Matthews coming into this game banged up, right,
it was in question whether or not he was going
to make his you know, active streak record setting one
hundred and eighty fourth career start. He did. But you know,
(08:32):
when you have a number like that in a stall
like that, for a player as explosive and as dangerous
on the edges as for Jean Robinson, you know, you
wonder if that injury and then you know, Elijah Wilkinson
on the other side, enters the season as kind of
third on the depth chart, if that took its toll tonight.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, And I think that it's only heightened, Like the
falcons inability to run the ball is only heightened by
the fact that the forty nine ers had absolutely no
trouble running the ball like Christian McCaffrey ends with almost
one hundred and already total rushing yards. And I think
like when you go into a game where the entire
conversation and narrative around the game is it's the Bajon
Robinson versus Christian McCaffrey showdown, and Jon coming off of
(09:13):
what he did Monday night, I mean, it's it really
only heightens the falcons inability to do much of anything
running the ball at all. And I mean it just
was there was never a point in time where it
felt like anything was easy for them, whether it was
throwing the ball, whether it was running the ball. There
there was no point in time in those four quarters
where I felt like, oh, they've got something going and
(09:34):
they're moving the ball. Well, maybe outside of that one
touchdown scoring drive, but where they got the ball, you know,
at midfield after the Jamal Agnew returned. But I think
other than that, it was just it never felt easy.
And I mean, I guess you do have to give
credit to Robert Salla and this defense for showing up
and having a game plan and attacking the Falcons and
(09:57):
taking away their strength. But if you're the Falcons and
you know that you want to be. They've never made
it a secret. They're like, we're gonna run the ball.
We're a run first team, and so when that is
completely taken away, this is kind of what happens. And again,
it just feels very reminiscent to that Week one Tampa
game where the Falcons run game was almost completely taken away.
(10:22):
I believe Jean Robinson average two point nine yards per
carrying that game as well.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Yeah, it is crazy the parallels kind of between both
of those and when Atlanta's run game again in a
weird way, you saw kind of I think what Atlanta
is going for in the way San Francisco played tonight,
right where you have a stout defense and we'll get
to San Francisco's defense, I think a little bit more
in the third quarter, because they did some things that
were surprising to me. But they also kind of did
(10:50):
just the number one thing on the most obvious list,
which is shut down the run game. And when Atlanta's
run game is not able to really get going, you
see how it kind of boggs down the rest of
the offense. Were you surprised that it bogged down just
as much as it as it did on Sunday night.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yeah, I was, I think because you know, we've seen
the Falcons do kind of some really good things to
get some bloated boxes recently, whether it be the Buffalo
Bills or the Washington Commanders, Like, those were two defenses
that definitely wanted to take the runaway, but the Falcons
were able to run the ball even when they were
actively trying to do that, Whereas today against the forty
(11:29):
nine Ers, it felt like, I don't know, I don't
necessarily think the I don't think there was a Here's
the thing is, like, I ultimately, when I look at
this offensive performance, I can't just put it on like
one singular thing as to why the Falcons only scored
ten points today. It really did feel like a microcosm
like the entire unit not blocking well up front, the
(11:53):
run game not manifesting some miscues on Michael Pennock's junior's part.
I mean, there were just so many different avenues of
this offense that weren't clicking and weren't firing on all cylinders.
And I think that's ultimately kind of like and when
you can't rely on the one thing that you're so
used to relying on and feel so good about your
(12:15):
bread and butter. Like what happened tonight is kind of
indicative of that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Yeah, absolutely, all right, Well that is our whistle, and
you are going to run off and talk to Michael
Pennix next. I believe he's going to take the podium
here soon, so we will touch base with you again,
Toy for the third quarter to kind of talk a
little bit more about the offense and hear what Michael
Pennix Junior had to say.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Awesome, sounds good. I'll be right back.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Today's halftime is brought to you by Microsoft co Pilot,
which helps us create this incredible outline for today's podcast.
Microsoft co Pilot stat for You has to do with pressure.
Michael Pennix was pressured eleven times on forty two dropbacks
Sunday night. He did not complete one of his nine
passes while under pressure, and he was sacked twice. However,
on the flip side, when he was not pressured, he
(13:03):
was twenty one of twenty nine for two hundred and
forty one yards and a touchdown. So I think it
was a smart move by Robert Solid of pressure the
Falcons as much as he did. I do think it
is something that Michael Pennix will learn from and this
offense will ultimately be better because of it. But it
worked out for the forty nine Ers tonight, and ultimately
the defense for San Francisco got the better of Atlanta's offense.
(13:25):
So that is our halftime stat brought to you by
Microsoft Copilot. We will see you in the third quarter.
We are back with Tory mclanney for the third quarter. Tory,
you just heard from Michael Pennox Junior. Can you briefly
tell us what he had to say, just kind of
about the offensive performance tonight.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
I think the main point of what he said and
was kind of this idea of the Falcons have too
many good players on this team to not find a
way to win games. I agree, And I kind of
asked the question of like, well, what were the forty
nine ers doing to take away the run? And he
kind of was like, you know, they did take away
(14:03):
the run, but we should be able to do things
outside of the run to score points. And I think
like he talked about misopportunities, he talked about kind of
like wanting to be better holistically and this this offense
ultimately not scoring and not capitalizing in the moments and
in the time periods that they ultimately needed to because
(14:26):
like what he said, he was like, we were not
without opportunities, we were not without moments to capitalize on
and put points on the board.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
So because of that.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
It was kind of this it goes back to what
I was even saying in the last quarter, where it's
like a holistic thing of like, there were a lot
of issues offensively that happened in this in these four
quarters tonight that created this kind of perfect storm for
this offense to to not do what they do best. Also, sorry,
(14:58):
if you're hearing like all this be it noise, everybody's
packing up to go get on the bush.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
That is okay. We will deal with some ambient noise
if it means we get some on location reporting from
one of the best reporters on the Falcons beat.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
So oh stop.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
So yeah, I do agree. I mean I think that
you see what the Falcons want to be in a
weird way. It's kind of like what the forty nine
ers were tonight and the march down the field nineteen
plays kind of at the end of the first quarter
leading into the beginning of the second quarter. I think
was indicative of not just Atlanta's performance tonight, but a
little bit of their performance so far this season through
(15:39):
seven weeks, and you just you have this clock eating
melting drive where you're doing a little bit of everything. Yeah,
you're getting some penalties that extend drives, but this is
the NFL. It's found to happen. And they were running
the ball, they were mixing in the past, Michael Pennix
was going and then you just kind of get down
across the fifty and down closer to the red zone
(16:00):
and in the red zone, and it all starts to
bog down a little bit, and ultimately you come away
with just a field goal when you were very well
poised to make it an early seven and nothing lead,
and you start to kind of like make the game
move in your favor like they did against Buffalo. What
what did you see there? And why has it been
so hard for Atlanta to kind of score in the
(16:21):
red zone? Do you think this season?
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I don't know. I think it goes back to actually
something I know that's you know, amazing analysis. I don't know,
but I think think it goes back to something that
Zach Robinson said. I believe it was after the Minnesota
Vikings game, where again the Falcons struggled to score. They
didn't struggle to move the ball twenty yard line to
(16:43):
twenty yard line, but once they kind of got in
in the red zone, they couldn't punch it in essentially.
And I believe he kind of said, you know, we
need to be better on first and second down to
put us in more manageable third down situations. And there
are a lot of times today that I felt that
I felt like because it all stems again from the
falcons inability to run the ball. Because they weren't able
(17:05):
to pick up four or five yards on first or
second down. They were in what felt like more middle
of the range third downs, if not third and longs tonight.
And I think that that makes things a lot more difficult.
When you shrink the field and you do get closer
and closer to the end zone, because then you're the
(17:26):
way a defense plays you, it also shrinks the field
for them and it takes away the quote unquote explosive play.
And so I think that that's where the Falcons are
kind of getting.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
Hung up a little bit.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
And I mean, I also think that that one drive
that you're talking about which was like a nineteen play
drive that only resulted in enough field goal, and the
field goal was the nineteenth play of that drive. Like,
so eighteen plays and you don't come away with points,
Like there was like this kind of demoralizing feeling when
you don't do that. It's demoralizing for or the offense.
(18:01):
It's also demoralizing for a defense to kind of be.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Like, yo, like we gotta get.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
The ball back, like or we turn the ball over.
It's it's like and didn't. Yeah, it kind of becomes
this like for a whole team, it becomes really a
difficult moment when you don't punch the ball in and
get a touchdown. So ultimately, like what does this mean
for the Falcons? I think this is a trend that
(18:29):
the Falcons have shown over the course of seven six
games that it's like, hey, when they are losing games,
and even sometimes when they're winning games, a key issue
that is reigned supreme for six games is the inability
to punch the ball into the end zone to the
degree and to the clip.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You need to absolutely and that has been in my opinion,
that's kind of like the number one thing they need
to get cleaned up if they're gonna evolve into a
playoff team in the NFC really quickly. Tori did what
am I Michael Pennix have to say about kind of
right before halftime the intentional grounding call and Oraheem said
coming out of the half he thought there would be
one second left on the clock. What did Mike say afterwards?
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Mike really just kind of said, like I was just
trying not to take a sack in that situation and
you know, not getting the team out of field goal
range or anything like that, Like that's what mindset was.
So I think like he didn't even realize when he
threw the ball away, like, oh, I'm not out of
the tackle box, And I think like that's the gist
that that he said in one note I'll leave you
(19:32):
on before I go and run to the bus. The
Falcons have only scored one touchdown in their last six quarters,
and that is not who this offense wants to be.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
No, certainly not the way that they came out against Buffalo.
But thank you so much Tory for taking the time.
Go grab that bus and I will see you, probably
not right in early Tuesday, I'll see you late in
the afternoon. On Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Here you go, I'll see you.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Then there goes Tory and incomes our producer Jared Jared
call Is joining me. Jared, what was your just like
really quick or overall thoughts on tonight's game expectations going
in off of the Buffalo win, and then kind of
your evaluation of just the performance tonight.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
I was really surprised coming into the game that San
Francisco was favored, because I thought the talking for picking
up steam, I thought we looked really good against Buffalo.
San Francisco has been kind of in this like limbo
with all their injuries, and so I was like, yeah,
you know, feeling pretty good coming into this game. But
very soon the game proved to be a very different
kind of game than the Falcons are used to winning.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Lately.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
It's been a lot of quick starts, a lot of
not necessarily shootout games, but high scoring games, and this
one from you know, right off the bat, we were
talking before the show. First quarter was over in like
forty five minutes. It felt like this was going to
be just a low scoring slug fest, and I think
it kind of caught the Falcons by surprise, and they
weren't able to weren't quite able to get up off
(20:56):
the mat after those first couple of drives didn't end
up at any points.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Yeah, no, absolutely. I think it's similar to me in
that it's like kind of the Week one game over again,
where I felt like that Tampa and Atlanta in that
game were very similarly matched, kind of playing a grind
it out style. But in that game, I thought Atlanta
was the better team and that they lost the game
(21:23):
obviously kind of had the chance to take it in overtime,
you missed the kick there. They lost the game because
of like some shoot yourself in the foot moments. In
this one, I did feel San Francisco was the better team,
particularly just because of the way their offense was able
to get it going. I don't think Atlanta's defense played
poorly by any means, but I think that that was
(21:44):
the difference there in this one. So it's kind of like,
to your point, Atlanta, like, to be a playoff team,
you have to win some of these close games, and
they're the close games exist every week in the NFL.
The Falcons are not, you know, unique to this. So
I think I saw a stat today where's it's like
the Arizona Cardinals are two and five and have lost
(22:04):
their five games by a combined thirteen points. Right, So,
if you're an Arizona fan, you're like, you feel like
the season's over and it's insane how little the margin is.
That is the margin though in the league, and that's
where the Falcons kind of that next obstacle for them
is you've seen them get up for these big games.
(22:24):
Now it's learning how to win the tough games that
you're not necessarily up for, or that the other team
is maybe just as up for and has a great
game plan for you. Right, So, can you play left handed?
Because that ultimately, I think the forty nine ers gave
the Falcons a great sign of respect here in that, like,
they kind of brought a really good game plan in
(22:47):
this game. Their players were locked in. They wanted to
make Atlanta have to play left handed, and if you're
not a good team, I don't think that's always the
game plan, right, Like, so you kind of saw it
felt in a weird way, a little playoff ee tonight,
even though I don't think either team is close to
a playoff version of themselves, right, right.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
One hundred percent, And I totally know what you're saying,
and I think in that way that this is a
great learning experience for this young Atlanta Falcons team. You
got to learn, hey, Bjon Robinson has been absolutely carrying
this team right that There's been a lot of performance
from Mike Pennix junior, from Drake London, Kyle Pitts has
been in the mix a lot, but this offense has
revolved around Bjon Robinson and today he has what was it,
(23:32):
six receptions on eight targets, fourteen carries for like forty yards.
This is this is a game where like San Francisco's
defense was keenan Bejon all night long. They took him
away and they forced the Falcons to beat him with
their other weapons and they weren't able to do so.
And so I think the fact that you're getting this
game in Week seven, with a lot of football left
(23:54):
to play in this season, this could mean a lot
coming down for all these young players learning, Hey, this
is what we need to do when we're getting blitzed
out the wall Zoo in the fourth quarter and we
need two scores to get back into this game. This
is gonna be a great learning experience moving forward.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
Absolutely. Yeah, So let's talk about moving forward. I said
in the lead up to the Bills game, Hey, good
teams don't lose back to back games, right, So the
Falcons have a great chance to rebound on tap against
a Miami Dolphins team that is reeling maybe as much
as any in the league. Right. So again, this being
the NFL, any team on any Sunday can beat you.
(24:31):
But we're turning back home against these Miami Dolphins. Yeah,
I would expect the Falcons to really be locked in
for this game, to get one at home, because Jared,
the stretch after that. At one point, you know, looking
at the schedule when you get it in, what is
that may like this stretch probably felt like the most
(24:51):
attainable for Atlanta. Now, all of a sudden, I'm looking
at after Miami, you've got the New England Patriots and
you've got the Indianapolis Colts, both of which are on
the road. Those are two of the best teams in
the NFL. And then you get back home for a
revenge game against Carolina Panthers. But it's not gonna be
so easy because you're coming back from Berlin. So what
do you make Jared of the Falcons kind of next
(25:11):
four games, And how important is it for the offense
to learn some of the lessons from tonight, Like.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
You said, it's it's gonna be really tough.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
You really need to learn your lessons here because, like
you said, this Dolphins team is reeling. This Dolphins s
team is not gonna be able to make you play
left handed.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
As you say, again, this is the NFL. Any given Sunday,
anything can happen.
Speaker 4 (25:35):
But it doesn't feel like the Falcons are going to
be put to the test like they work tonight against
the Dolphins. But maybe you want that because then you
have to go on the road to New England, right
you said, to Germany. And the fact that you have
to go on the road to New England and then
over to Germany to play the Colts and then back
home with no extra rest.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
There's no mini buy for like a Thursday or a
Monday game. These are all just bang bang bang back
to back.
Speaker 4 (26:01):
So you really hope that this team, this coaching staff
can learn from this forty nine ers game, put those
things into practice against the Dolphins, get some momentum going
into that three game stretch, and then you know, on
the other side, you really hope you went too, and
one you definitely have to come out at least at
the very worst, you have to come out two and
two out of these next four games against the Dolphins, Patriots, Calts,
(26:22):
and Panthers.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Yeah, I guess if there is. You know, it's funny.
I feel like every year we get the schedule and
it's it's kind of like, oh, the Falcons have one
of the easiest schedules in the league, and then by
the time we're like in the thick of it or
we're wrapping up and looking back at it, it's wound
up to be one of the most difficult because it's
always there's like two or three teams in the league
to come out of nowhere and surprise everybody. And I
(26:44):
always feel like they're on the Falcons schedule. And this
year there are two of your next three opponents in
the Patriots and the Colts, but like, in a weird way,
the next three being against AFC teams like that. I
want to kind of into that. But when you have
three losses already, you gotta start winning them all. But
(27:05):
if the Falcons do take a little bit of time
to kind of like something finds their footing and then
maybe a step back and then a step forward, like
at least these three weeks are not in your conference
and you can maybe get some things corrected because your
final five games are all NFC games and they're going
to be tough as well. So if the Falcons can
(27:27):
just kind of like tread water and maybe do a
reverse of what they did last year where you really
catch fire over the last home stretch, I mean, that's
what worked in twenty sixteen, It's what worked in twenty seventeen,
Like those are your playoff years that you look back on.
That's what I think Atlanta's got to be going for.
But it really does I think start with the offense.
How surprised were you at this offense performance tonight?
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Frankly, I was very surprised.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
It was very surprising not to see Bjohn do everything
that he has done like this entire season.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
I'm really.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
This This offense needs to figure out how to score touchdowns.
That's I mean, like you said earlier, you've got to
figure out how to not shoot yourself in the foot.
There's there's too many times where you take an intentional
grounded before halftime, you get two penalties back to back
that take you out of field goal range and you
got to punt the ball that that's happening way too
many times.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
For this team.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
They're very correctable mistakes, but you need you need to
figure it out because it's it's go time.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
Like you said, all.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Right, it's go time. That is our final whistle, So
it's time for us to go. For Tory mclaney to
Jared paul I am Will McFadden, please keep your eyes
field poor Atlanta or to Atlanta Falcons dot com. Throughout
the week, we'll have all the coverage about this team,
the corrections they're going to make, everything like that. Stay
tuned for Dalton's Audible coming to you midweek, and then
(28:49):
we got our Friday five coming to you on a Friday.
So again, for everybody on this show, thank you so
much for listening, and we will see you next time.
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