A win is a win in the NFL, certainly one that snaps a four-game losing streak.
Just don’t expect Atlanta to clip this one for the highlight reel. The Falcons limped past a two-time winning Las Vegas Raiders team that was starting its third quarterback of the season for a 15-9 victory Monday night. They failed to defeat the Raiders until the last snap of the game.
They won the game with the help of a controversial quarterback misplay that allowed the Falcons to run out the fourth quarter clock. Raiders linebacker Robert Spillane took the penalty on this contact with Kirk Cousins that gave the Falcons first and 10 at midfield on an incomplete third down with 2:44 left:
The Falcons ultimately failed to capitalize and headed to Las Vegas with 1:50 remaining. But the Raiders failed to respond with a touchdown. Las Vegas advanced to the Atlanta 35-yard line on its final drive before Jessie Bates III intercepted the Raiders’ final throw in the end zone.
The victory improved the Falcons’ record to 7-7 to keep their remote playoff hopes afloat. But there was little in Monday’s performance to suggest an imminent comeback to edge out the Buccaneers 8-6 for the NFC South title.
Falcons struggle to capitalize on good field position
The Falcons spent most of the night starting drives in prime field position and then failed to convert them into touchdowns. Three first-half drives that advanced into Raiders territory ended in punts. A second-half possession that began at the Las Vegas 37-yard line thanks to a blocked punt scored only one field goal.
Atlanta’s only offensive highlight was when Kirk Cousins hit Drake London for a 30-yard touchdown late in the first quarter. London broke free of cornerback Jack Jones’ broken coverage and ran untouched down the right wing to secure the goal.
The struggles that baffled Cousins during the four-game losing streak continued throughout the night. The Falcons’ first-year quarterback was repeatedly off target and limited by the mobility issues that have plagued him since a torn Achilles tendon in Week 8 last season.
Cousins finished the night completing 11 of 17 passes for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He took three sacks, two of which left the Falcons out of field goal range. Bijan Robinson was effective and often electric when he touched the ball while gaining 125 yards on 22 carries. But Atlanta’s offense as a whole was hamstrung by an ineffective passing attack.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has repeatedly expressed his confidence in Cousins as his starting quarterback. Monday’s effort will do little to quell calls to give rookie Michael Penix Jr. a chance to start.
In the end, the Falcons’ effort was enough to overcome an inept Raiders offense led by former Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder in his first start of the season. Ridder got the nod after Aidan O’Connell was sidelined before kickoff with a bone bruise in his left knee he suffered last week against the Buccaneers.
Ridder struggled moving the ball and had little success on 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 a touchdown and an interception while making three sacks.
He led a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter that put pressure on the Falcons. But Las Vegas’ last gasp fell short on two passes to the end zone, one that fell incomplete and the other that was intercepted by Bates.
Meanwhile, running back Alexander Mattison lost a fumble and was tackled in the end zone for a safety. 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 keep pace with the Giants for the worst record in football in the race to the finish for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.