Pats vs. Falcons: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Pats vs. Falcons: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

A nice win against a good team. Patriots are still struggling in the red zone, trading TDs for Field Goals. It was good to the the Patriots run the ball and get Fred Taylor in the game.

The Good:

Patriots shut down Atlanta TE Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez made his first and only catch of the game on a 16-yard reception on the Falcons' first offensive play of the fourth quarter.

Randy Moss and Fred Taylor have both eclipsed 100 yards for the day. At the 2-minute warning, Moss had 9 catches for 108 yards, while Taylor had rushed 20 times for 107 yards.

Despite settling for four field goals in five visits inside the red zone, the Patriots did execute in some key situations. They went 7 for 10 on third-and-short situations and 3 for 3 on fourth downs.

James Sanders recovered an Atlanta fumble forced by fellow safety Brandon McGowan at the Patriots 27 with little less than four minutes to play in the half.

The Falcons erased a potential touchdown when wide receiver Michael Jenkins was called for offensive pass interference (pushing off against Leigh Bodden) on what would have been a 36-yard touchdown reception.

The Patriots' defense surrendered a first-drive touchdown, but, even with an injury to defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, limited the high-flying Falcons to a field goal over the final 54 minutes of play.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan failed to throw a TD pass for the first time this season.

The Bad:

Felt bad for the Falcons having to waste a challenge on this call. Referees totally missed an incomplete pass by Matt Ryan, instead calling it a fumble and Shawn Springs returned the ball for a touchdown. The Falcons challenged immediately and the play was, correctly, reversed to an incompletion.

The Ugly:

Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was shaken up late in the second quarter while helping to tackle

Atlanta running back Michael Turner. He did not return to the game.

Patriots WR Wes Welker was inactive for the second straight game with a knee injury.

Game Notes:

With a late first-half catch, Randy Moss recorded career reception No. 862, tying him for 12th best on the

NFL's all-time receiving list alongside former Jacksonville standout Jimmy Smith.

The Brady to Baker TD was the 200th TD pass of Brady's career. He is the 27th player in NFL history to reach that milestone and fourth fastest to the mark.

Randy Moss caught 10 passes for 116 yards. His 61 games with at least 100 yards receiving are second most in NFL history to Jerry Rice's 76.

Notable Quotes:

“The plan was for him [Gonzalez] to not have any catches and he had one, so obviously the plan failed (laughter)" -- Patriots safety Brandon McGowan

"We can't keep kicking field goals, I know that" -- Patriots QB Tom Brady

"There are a lot of new faces in the locker room...We're still developing and we still have a pretty explosive offense." -- Patriots TE Chris Baker

"It’s a great win for us and we’ll take it and still understand that there are a lot of things we need to do better. Anytime you beat a good football team like that – and we made some real critical plays: a few fourth downs, some short yardage ones, fourth and one on our own 25 yard line – whatever that was – and made that. That was big for us." -- Patriots QB tom Brady

Scoring:

The Falcons put points on the board in their first possession as Jason Elam boots a 26-yard field goal to cap a 12-play, 72-yard trek over 5:39. (Pats 0 - Falcons 3)

Stephen Gostkowski splits the uprights with a 21-yard field goal to cap a monster 15-play, 81-yard scoring drive that ate 8:39 off the clock. (Pats 3 - Falcons 3)

The Patriots snapped their five-quarter touchdown-less streak with Fred Taylor's 8-yard run early in the second quarter. The drive covered 51 yards on six plays over 2:29. (Pats 10 - Falcons 3)

The Falcons tie the game on a Michael Turner 2-yard touchdown run. The scoring drive covered 59 yards on eight plays over 2:58. (Pats 10 - Falcons 10)

Stephen Gostkowski booted a 33-yard field goal to cap a 12-play, 58-yard scoring drive that covered 3:36. James Sanders' fumble recovery set up the trek. (Pats 13 - Falcons 10)

The Patriots' offense again sputtered in the red zone and New England settled for a 22-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. The drive covered 79 yards on 13 players over 5:59. (Pats 16 - Falcons 10)

Stephen Gostkowski split the uprights with a 33-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter. The boot capped a 70-yard, 16-play scoring drive over 6:59. (Pats 19 - Falcons 10)

Patriots TE Chris Baker hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass from QB Tom Brady to cap a six-play, 72-yard scoring drive that spanned 3:08. (Pats 26 - Falcons 10) FINAL

Info from boston.com and nfl.com