LANDOVER, Md. – The Falcons play plenty of close games, almost exclusively as a matter of fact.
They have completed 12 contests, with nine decided by one score and most of those coming down to the final possession.
As we all know, the Falcons scratch and claw and battle until the bell rings. Every time. No exceptions.
Their record on the scorecards, if we can take this boxing analogy a step farther, hasn’t been overwhelmingly decisive.
The Falcons are 4-5 in one-score games, falling below even in those situations after Sunday’s 19-13 loss at Washington. The Falcons were two yards from the goal line on a valiant comeback attempt, but never crossed it.
Marcus Mariota’s interception, batted and then picked in the end zone, essentially sealed an unwelcome and possibly pivotal result the grand scheme. The Commanders now sit above them in conference standings, just outside the playoff picture, with a tiebreaker in hand.
In conference and NFC South standings likely decided by the tightest of margins, losses like this hurt. It’s fair to say the Falcons could’ve and maybe should’ve completed this comeback, but ultimately fell short in a game desperately needed.
That’s happening too often for the Falcons to stack wins and surge late into the season, creating the possibility they’ll rue some of these outcomes after the new year.
“We are a good team but, in order to be a great team, we’ve got to finish,” wise-beyond-his-years rookie running back Tyler Allgeier said. “You have good teams all over, but those who close games out end up on top. All of our effort is there. We ended up just short this time.”
Just short. Like they were against New Orleans and the L.A. Rams and Chargers, and against Tampa Bay. The Falcons had a chance to win each of those – that overtime home win over Carolina admittedly could’ve gone the other way – and fell short.
Close losses didn’t happen much a year ago, when the Falcons were 7-2 in one-score contests. That’s how last year’s unit won all of their games, consistently scratching one out or being handed a lopsided loss.
This year’s team is undoubtedly better and is in most every game. It’s often said by football folks smarter than me that one-score results don’t travel from year to year. I believe that’s true, even with players completely buying in to Arthur Smith’s relentless, never-say-die mentality. There’s just too much random in these tight games to assume they’ll consistently continue to come up roses.
This year’s group has real…
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