2024-11-04 06:40:02
Key takeaway: Although it wasn’t a perfectly clean game — the Falcons did have three fumbles and lost one — Atlanta made up for any of its mistakes, and fast.
- More: Early in the second quarter, Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins was sacked by Cowboys defensive end Carl Lawson on a third-and-9 play for a loss of 8 yards. In the process, Lawson forced the ball out of Cousins’ hand, and Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson recovered the fumble.
- The Cowboys’ offense strung a few plays together, but the Falcons’ defense really stepped up on third-and-1, when defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and inside linebacker Nate Landman stopped running back Rico Dowdle at the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys decided to go for it, and Falcons inside linebacker Kaden Elliss tackled wide receiver CeeDee Lamb for a loss of 3 yards to turn the possession over on downs.
- The Falcons’ offense turned that positive moment from the defense into a touchdown. The scoring drive consisted of five plays for 53 yards. Wide receiver Darnell Mooney ultimately caught a deep 36-yard pass from Cousins toward the right side of the field. Mooney ran clean and green into the end zone. It gave the Falcons a 14-3 lead, and the sequence swung the game in Atlanta’s favor early while preventing Dallas from gaining any momentum.
Standout performance: Running back Bijan Robinson, who finished with a career-best 26 touches for 145 yards. On the Falcons’ first scoring drive, Robinson had four carries for 29 yards, an average of 7.25 yards per carry. The drive itself was seven plays for 78 yards, so Robinson was responsible for 57% of the touches and 37% of the distance. That’s just one example of how he was able to slice and dice the Cowboys’ defense, too. What the numbers don’t show, though, was Robinson’s ability to power through his runs. He sustained a lot of hits from Cowboys defenders but managed to stay upright and often pushed through multiple players. His vision and contact balance were on full display Sunday.
Number to know: 3. The number of sacks the Falcons totaled against the Cowboys, which marked a new season high for a single game. Falcons inside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett sacked Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on back-to-back plays in the first quarter. Falcons inside linebacker Kaden Elliss later took Prescott down in the third quarter. Entering Sunday’s game, Atlanta had the fewest sacks in the NFL with six. The pass rush was questioned throughout the week, and everyone voiced that it was an area that needed to improve. That happened on Sunday.
