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-win Las Vegas Raiders team that was starting its third quarterback of the season for a 15-9 win Monday night. They failed to put the Raiders away until the final snap of the game.
They won the game with the aid of a controversial roughing the passer call that allowed the Falcons to run fourth-quarter clock. Raiders linebacker Spillane drew the penalty on this contact with Kirk Cousins that granted the Falcons first-and-10 at midfield on a third-down incompletion with 2:44 remaining.
The Falcons didn’t ultimately didn’t capitalize and punted back to Las Vegas with 1:50 remaining. But the Raiders failed to answer with a touchdown. Las Vegas advanced to the Atlanta 35-yard line on its final drive. But the Raiders’ last-gasp shot at the end zone was intercepted by Jessie Bates III.
The win improved the Falcons’ record to 7-7 to keep their long-shot playoff hopes afloat. But there was little from Monday’s performance to suggest an imminent rally past the 8-6 Buccaneers for the NFC South title.
Falcons struggle to capitalize on good field position
The Falcons spent most of the night starting drives in premium field position then failing to convert it into touchdowns. Three first-half drives that advanced to Raiders territory ended in punts. A second-half possession that started at the Las Vegas 37-yard line thanks to a blocked punt netted just a field goal.
The lone offensive highlight for Atlanta saw Kirk Cousins hit Drake London for a 30-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter. London broke free from busted coverage by cornerback Jack Jones and ran untouched down the right sideline to secure the scoring grab.
But the struggles that flummoxed Cousins throughout the four-game losing streak continued throughout the night. The first-year Falcons quarterback was repeatedly off target and limited by the mobility problems that have further plagued him since an Achilles tendon tear in Week 8 last season.
Cousins finished the night completing 11 off 17 passes for 112 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He took three sacks, two of which knocked the Falcons out of field-goal range. Bijan Robinson was effective and often electric when he touched the ball while tallying 125 yards on 22 carries. But Atlanta’s offense as a whole was hamstrung by an ineffective passing attack.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris has repeatedly stated his confidence in Cousins as his starting quarterback. But Monday’s effort will do little to quell calls to give rookie Michael Penix Jr. a chance to start.
But in the end, the Falcons’ effort was enough to outscore an inept Raiders offense helmed by ex-Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder in his first start of the season. Ridder got the nod after Aidan O’Connell was inactivated before kickoff with a bone bruise in his left knee suffered last week against the Buccaneers.
He struggled to move the ball and found little success downfield 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 one touchdown and one interception while taking three sacks.
He led a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter that put pressure on the Falcons. But Las Vegas’ last gasp came up short on two passes into the end zone — one that fell incomplete and the other that was picked off by Bates.
Running back Alexander Mattison, meanwhile, lost a fumble and was tackled in the end zone for a safety. And Raiders special teams allowed three blocked kicks — two on punts and one on an extra point.
The Raiders dropped to 2-12 with the loss to keep pace with the Giants for the worst record in football in the race to the bottom for the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft.
