FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons defense had multiple opportunities to potentially change the outcome of last Sunday's 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Head coach Raheem Morris took note of each.
"It was like the two, three missed sacks that could have been," Morris said. "… Then also, it was probably about five missed opps on picks."
Let's address each aspect of the game using specific moments Morris highlighted.
The missed sack he specifically mentioned occured in the fourth quarter. Trailing 20-17, with 1:38 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Buccaneers faced a second-and-9 from the 50-yard line. Falcons inside linebacker Kaden Elliss came free around the edge and wrapped both arms around Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Instead of bringing Mayfield down, though, Elliss swung around and lost his grip. Mayfield's pass went incomplete, but the chance for a big loss was also missed. The next play was a 10-yard completion that would not have picked up the first down had Elliss sacked Mayfield.
The Falcons ultimately finished with just one sack. Inside linebacker Divine Deablo and cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. shared credit for it in the second quarter.
"If we had finished one of those sacks when we played, that would have been the key one there in two minutes," Morris said. "That would have really helped us because we'd really be happy today talking about a two-sack win as opposed to one sack with a pressure-leading percentage in the National Football League."
Safety Xavier Watts nearly had a pair of interceptions in his first career start.
There was Mayfield's 30-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Emeka Egbuka in the second quarter. The ball sailed through Watts' hands en route to Egbuka. Watts bounced up clearly knowing he was so close to his first career pick.
Then, there was a pass breakup midway through the third quarter. Mayfield tried to connect with wide receiver Sterling Shepard up the middle on second-and-6. Instead, Watts jumped the route and got both hands on the ball. As Watts attempted to complete the catch, however, Shepard knocked it loose. Watts went and stayed down afterward, kicking his feet in either frustration or/and disappointment. Cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. went over to help pick the rookie up both physically and mentally.
"The two that the young safety could have grabbed – a great job by him," Morris said. "A lot of credit for him even getting in position to be there, doing the right things."
That's the mindset the Falcons are taking into Week 2: The defense was so close to so much more. So fast, too, considering the unit has a new system under coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who joined in the offseason. There's a little bit of grace early on. Just not for too long.
"It depends on what the missed opportunities are," Ulbrich said. "Missed opportunities from lack of technique or busted assignments, that's something we'll never tolerate. Doesn't matter what year we are in the system. Just catching the ball, that's a different missed opportunity. Or just judging your jump a little bit wrong. Or whatever the case may be. Those are fixable. Those are things that we can absolutely drill and work and get better at."
The Falcons will need to if they want to win on the road Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, who are riding more momentum into their prime-time matchup.
The Vikings pulled off a 27-24 victory against the Chicago Bears last Monday in which J.J. McCarthy became the first quarterback since 1950 to lead a fourth-quarter comeback of 10-plus points in his debut while on the road. He completed 13 of his 20 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
McCarthy, however, was sacked three times. He also threw an interception.
So, the Falcons defense can create moments for itself again. Just needs to capitalize on them as well this time.
"The missed opportunities, those things happen" Ulbrich said. "Sometimes they do, and it's unfortunate. I'm confident these guys are going to make them the next time they get the opportunity to do that."
