After a performance they would like to forget against Minnesota last week, the Falcons looked to bounce back against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. And it looked like the Falcons were going to win their first outdoor road game since 2012, leading by 10 midway through the third quarter. But the offensive line for the Falcons fell apart, which led to a 30-20 win for the Giants.
It was a new look offensive line as three starters were out with injuries. Joe Hawley and Lamar Holmes suffered season-ending injuries last week while Justin Blaylock was out with a back injury. So the Peter Konz took place of Hawley, Gabe Carimi took the place of Holmes and Harlan Gunn took Blaylock’s spot.
And the line was able to do some good things in the first half. After the Giants first scoring drive to put them up 7-0 in the first quarter, the Falcons answered on the ensuing drive with a Steven Jackson 10-yard touchdown run. Both teams exchanged field goals early in the second quarter, but the Falcons were able to put together a 50-yard drive at the end of the first half when Bryant kicked a 49-yard field goal to lead 13-10.
And it was all Falcons to start the third quarter. Matt Ryan threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Antone Smith to take a 20-10 lead.
That was when the Giants woke up.
They answered the Falcons scoring drive with an 81-yard drive which ended with an Andre Williams 3-yard touchdown run. Then the defensive line led by Jason Pierre-Paul got after the run game of the Falcons and constantly put pressure on Ryan. The Giants kept the momentum going in the fourth quarter as Eli Manning threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Odell Beckham to take the lead. The Giants would tack on two more field goals later in the quarter for insurance.
As it was mentioned earlier, the offensive line broke down in the second half. Ryan was hit only once in the first half, but that was not the case in the second half as he was sacked once and was hit every time he went back to pass on third down. And because the defensive line was so aggressive, the run game was also nonexistent in the second half. The Falcons only rushed for 90 yards, which is well below their 120-plus average.
Another problem for the Falcons was that they could not put any pressure on Manning. Osi Umenyiora had the lone sack for the Falcons in the second half, but that was the only type of pressure they could muster.
Some of the good things to come out of the game was Julio Jones had another strong showing, catching 11 passes for 105 yards. And Matt Ryan was solid despite the pressure, throwing for 316 yards and one touchdown.
The Falcons have not lost nine consecutive outdoor road games, which dates back to November 2012. They are now winless on the road this season, their NFC record is not 2-2 and their overall record is 2-3. They will look to get back to .500 next Sunday when they come back to the Georgia Dome to face the Chicago Bears.
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