A win is a win in the NFL – especially a win that snaps a four-game losing streak.
Just don’t expect Atlanta to cut this one for the highlight reel. The Falcons limped past a two-win Las Vegas Raiders team that started its third quarterback of the season for a 15-9 win Monday night. They failed to put the Raiders away until the final moments of the game.
They won the game using a controversial approach to the passer call, allowing the Falcons to run out the fourth quarter clock. Raiders linebacker Spillane drew the penalty on this contact with Kirk Cousins, giving the Falcons first-and-10 at midfield on a third-down incompletion with 2:44 remaining.
The Falcons ultimately failed to capitalize and returned to Las Vegas with 1:50 remaining. But the Raiders failed to answer with a touchdown. Las Vegas advanced to the Atlanta 35-yard line on its final drive. But the Raiders’ final shot into the end zone was intercepted by Jessie Bates III.
The win improved the Falcons’ record to 7-7 to keep their long-term playoff hopes afloat. But there was little from Monday’s performance to suggest there would be a rally past the 8-6 Buccaneers for the NFC South title.
Falcons have difficulty taking advantage of good field position
The Falcons spent most of the night starting drives in premium field position and then failing to convert them into touchdowns. Three drives in the first half that advanced into Raiders territory ended in punts. A second-half possession that started at the Las Vegas 37-yard line thanks to a blocked punt yielded only a field goal.
The lone offensive highlight for Atlanta was Kirk Cousins hitting Drake London for a 30-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter. London broke free from cornerback Jack Jones’ failed coverage and ran untouched down the right sideline to secure the scoring grab.
But the struggles that plagued Cousins during the four-game losing streak continued throughout the night. The Falcons’ freshman quarterback was repeatedly off target and limited by the mobility issues that have further plagued him since an Achilles tendon tear in Week 8 last season.
Cousins finished the night completing 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He picked up three sacks, two of which knocked the Falcons out of field goal range. Bijan Robinson was effective and often electric when he touched the ball as he covered 125 yards on 22 carries. But Atlanta’s offense as a whole was hamstrung by an ineffective passing attack.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris has repeatedly expressed confidence in Cousins as his starting quarterback. But Monday’s efforts will do little to quell calls for rookie Michael Penix Jr. a chance to get started.
But in the end, the Falcons’ effort was enough to defeat an inept Raiders offense, aided by ex-Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder in his first start of the season. Ridder got the nod after Aidan O’Connell was taken off before kick-off with a bone bruise in his left knee that he sustained against the Buccaneers last week.
He struggled to move the ball and found little success in the field in his first start since Week 18 with the Falcons last season. Ridder finished the night completing 23 of 38 passes for 208 yards with one touchdown and one interception while recording three sacks.
He led a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter that put pressure on the Falcons. But Las Vegas’ final gasp fell short on two passes to the end zone — one that fell incomplete and the other that was picked up by Bates.
Running back Alexander Mattison, meanwhile, lost a fumble and was tackled for a safety in the end zone. And the Raiders special teams allowed three blocked kicks: two on punts and one on an extra point.
The Raiders fell to 2-12 with the loss to tie with the Giants for the worst record in football in the race to the bottom for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.
