Fighting Falcons must do more early to avoid bitter ends

TAMPA, Fla. – The Falcons were involved in yet another one-score game with a dramatic finish. That’s five such instances in as many weeks.

Results, however, have been mixed.

They’ve won a pair of these heart attacks. They’ve lost a bit more than that, with their third gut wrencher coming in a 21-15 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

This one played out like a Week 2 loss to the L.A. Rams, when the Falcons fell way behind and then came roaring back with a fourth-quarter surge that ultimately fell just short.

Controversy made this one unique – Tori McElhaney has you covered, right here, on the roughing-the-passer call on Grady Jarrett – and surely harder to take, with a shocking flag robbing the Falcons of an opportunity to complete the comeback.

A comeback wasn’t fathomable mere minutes earlier, when the Falcons were down 21 points and on the way to a truly lopsided-in-all-phases loss.

Then the Falcons did what they’re known to do. They scratched and clawed and pushed and never, ever stopped throwing haymakers. That wasn’t a revelation from this outcome. That’s an expectation, a core characteristic of this group.

“It took us a minute to get rolling but, what happened once we did is something I never doubt,” Falcons edge rusher Lorenzo Carter said. “We’re going to fight until the end, fight through the last play.”

Fair warning: This is not a column about the Falcons never giving up. There are no silver linings in a result like this.

This is about something left tackle/team captain Jake Matthews brought after this game, finding perspective through the frustration of another close loss.

“We have to find a way to play better in the beginning of the game,” Matthews said. “That’s the biggest takeaway I can [identify] right now.”