On Sunday morning, the Atlanta Falcons' freefall continued with an overtime loss against the Indianapolis Colts in a game played from Berlin, Germany. The Falcons were actually leading this game for the majority of the second half until Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, who had nearly 300 yards on the day, broke off a huge 83-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to give Indianapolis the lead.
While the teams would eventually trade scores down the stretch to get the game into overtime, the Taylor run was the writing on the wall for Atlanta.
After the game, Falcons defensive players seemed to agree that the team could have done more to finish the play after Taylor was initially stacked up.
“The defense ‘quit' on the 83 yard run, according to Kaden Ellis. AJ Terrell said they ‘relaxed' when they saw Taylor stacked up,” reported D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on X, formerly Twitter.
It certainly wasn't an encouraging answer from a defense that, for the most part, played well against Indianapolis, registering six sacks in the loss.
More of Atlanta's problems occurred on the offensive end of the field, where quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had another rough game from an accuracy perspective, while running back Bijan Robinson was mostly held in check by the Colts' defense.
This loss won't do anything to quiet chatter from the fanbase about potentially looking for replacements for head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, although thus far the Falcons have given no indication that they are considering such moves.
In any case, the Falcons will next take the field next week at home against the Carolina Panthers, looking to avenge their previous 30-0 loss to Carolina earlier this year. That game is set to kick off at 1:00 PM ET from downtown Atlanta.
