The Atlanta Falcons were not at home for the first time since 1988 – the Atlanta Falcons blog

ATLANTA – It’s a mess.

This is perhaps the easiest way to describe the Atlanta Falcons attack right now, as they have been playing for more than 130 minutes without a touch after the New England Patriots closed them off 25-0 on Thursday night.

Yes, the Falcons played without their offensive weapon, Cordarrelle Patterson, and receiver Calvin Ridley hasn’t been available for weeks, but Atlanta’s continued inability to attack has become a huge problem.

Thursday in Atlanta could be at its lowest. The Falcons, who were perhaps in front of a building that was 60 percent full (and many of them were Patriots fans), were expelled from their home for the first time since October 9, 1988, when they lost 33-0 to the Los Angeles Rams. .

However, it is more than Thursday. The Falcons have played consecutive games without a touchdown for the first time since weeks 8 and 9 of the 1987 season, with the New Orleans Saints 38-0 and Cleveland Browns 38-3.

The good news for Atlanta is that opponents make it a little easier – they’ll face the Jacksonville Jaguars on their next trip – but in a season when Atlanta’s attack was supposed to be better than its defense, it looks like the Falcons have a tough game. problems on both sides of the ball.

Describe the game in two words: Only. Ugly. This is the best way to describe Atlanta’s second attack failure – this time on a day when its defense lasted well enough to be competitive.

Buy AJ Terrell Rise: It’s been all season, but in the worst attack of the Atlanta season, it once again found itself to have a defensive star. Terrell finally grabbed the first cut of the season, read Mac Jones ’deep ball, stepped in front of it and returned it 35 yards to midfield, offering Atlanta a rare promise. It was also the longest yard win of the Falcons of the day.

The attacker’s line of failure to block well is worrying: Of course, not everything is in place – the other guys have to play at some point – but Atlanta has been having trouble running or getting into the block for weeks. It was evident a week ago against Dallas and more clearly on Thursday against New England.

Quarterback Matt Ryan turned into a Patriots piach, fired four times and hit 11 times. The Patriots had six losses and Atlanta made an average of 2.5 yards per rush. Only at the invitation of the training team did Qadree Ollison have double-digit running yards.

The failures of the line have slowed down what an unfinished crime can actually do. Since the Falcons have three first-round and two third-round selections, it should be better. If Atlanta wants to reverse this trend this season, it has to be.

QB breakdown: Part of this is related to offensive line problems, but Ryan had a bad, bad day again. Most of it was Ryan’s fault on Thursday, including two fourth-quarter abductions that sealed the game. A week later, when Ryan threw one of his worst yards against Dallas (117 yards), he followed it with another game with no touchdowns and less than 200 yards.

He doesn’t have a lot of high-level options to throw in, but a couple of weeks has been bad for the veteran, who also looked like he was beaten a little in the first half. For the second week in a row, Ryan didn’t finish the game – Josh Rosen said it was gone. Tonight, Rosen completed an offensive attack on Kyle Van Noy, who kicked Ryan twice. And then Feleipe Franks threw the cut with his first pass.