FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Atlanta Falcons had late comeback opportunities to win on the road in Week 9 but ultimately lost to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Final score: 24-23

Why it's important: The Falcons have now lost three games in a row, dropping to 3-5 overall with a Week 10 game on tap against the AFC-leading Indianapolis Colts. After that, the Falcons have back-to-back NFC South games with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. Atlanta is currently third in the division. It needs to flip the script, and fast.

Key takeaway: The Falcons squandered last-minute opportunities to either tie or take the game away from the Patriots. Kicker Parker Romo missed the point-after attempt that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter. Then, quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was called for intentional grounding on the Falcons' next offensive drive, which took Atlanta out of potential game-winning field-goal range.

Key moment: The Patriots' offense was 1 yard into Falcons territory with a fresh set of downs and 32 seconds remaining until halftime when Atlanta edge rusher Jalon Walker sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for a loss of not only 16 yards but the ball itself. Fellow edge rusher and first-round draft pick James Pearce Jr. scooped the fumble and returned it 21 yards to the New England 6-yard line. The turnover prevented the Patriots from putting any more points on the board until after halftime.

• What happened next: Two plays later, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Drake London. Atlanta made it a one-score game of 21-14 before heading into the locker room.

Standout performance: Falcons pass rush. The defense finished with six sacks against Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. It was the second game so far this season with at least six sacks. The last time the Falcons managed that was 2004.

• More: The Falcons have had a sack in each of their first eight games this season, which is their longest streak to start a season since 2012 when they had 14 consecutive games of such.
• Honorable mention: Drake London. The wide receiver had himself a game. More on his accolades below, though, under player milestones.

Number to know: 0-for-4. The Falcons' third-down conversion rate in the first half. The offense didn't convert a third down until its second-to-last play in the third quarter. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. completed a 7-yard pass to running back Bijan Robinson to convert on a third-and-1. That put the Falcons at 1-of-6 through three quarters of work.

Player milestones:

• With his 11-yard reception in the first quarter, wide receiver Drake London notched his 23rd straight game with at least one catch for 10-plus yards. That is the longest streak by a Falcons player since wide receiver Julio Jones had 28 straight games of such between 2018-20.
• London's 1-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter marked his NFL-best third first-quarter receiving touchdown since Week 4 of this season and his NFL-best seventh first-quarter receiving touchdown since the beginning of last season.
• London scored on a 2-yard catch in the second quarter, too. It made Sunday his second multi-touchdown game in his career. He finished with three total, adding an 8-yarder in the fourth quarter, to become the first Falcons player with at least three receiving touchdowns since 1991.
• Defensive lineman LaCale London notched his first career sack in the first quarter, taking down Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for a loss of 2 yards. Sunday was London's 13th career appearance, his fifth this season.
• Running back Bijan Robinson broke 3,000 career rushing yards Sunday, his 42nd career game. Only one other Falcons player has reached that milestone in fewer games — running back Williams Andrews in 1981 after 39 games.
• Kyle Pitts Sr. reached 3,000 career receiving yards Sunday, becoming the third Falcons tight end to do so in franchise history. The others were Alge Crumpler in 2006 and Jim Mitchell in 1975.
• Safety Jessie Bates III grabbed his first interception of the season, picking off Maye in the third quarter. That gives Bates a total of 25 interceptions in his career, having at least one every season since he was drafted in 2018. He's one of only five active NFL players with at least 25 career interceptions.

Injury updates:

• Left guard Matthew Bergeron injured his ankle during the Falcons' first offensive drive. He was deemed questionable to return but did not. Kyle Hinton filled in for Bergeron along the offensive line.
• Edge rusher Leonard Floyd injured his hamstring during the second quarter. He was deemed questionable to return but did not. The Falcons consistently rotate their edge rushers.

A quick tweet: Tori McElhaney and Terrin Waack share their gut reactions to Sunday's outcome in 280 characters or less.

• McElhaney: The kicking game remains a significant area of concern. This can't go on.
• Waack: Curious how the tie would have broke.

Setting the storylines:

• On both sides of the ball, the Falcons needed to improve in the run game. Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson explained how his unit can better run the ball. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich detailed how his unit can better stop the run.
• Only one of the 14 NFL experts pulled each week predicted the Falcons would straight-up beat the Patriots.
• Defensive lineman Zach Harrison (knee) and cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. (hamstring) were ruled out on Friday’s game report. Harrison said Thursday the plan was for him to play, but then he did not practice Friday. Sunday marked Harrison's second consecutive miss. It was Bowman's fourth.
• Although they were listed as questionable on Friday's game report, safety Jessie Bates (knee), edge rusher Leonard Floyd (hamstring) and edge rusher Jalon Walker (hamstring) were not among Sunday’s inactives. Though, as noted in the above "injury update" section, Floyd was pulled out of the game with a hamstring injury.
• Catch up on all the news that came out in the lead-up to Sunday's game in one spot here.

Looking forward: The Falcons are going international for Week 10, playing the Colts in Berlin, Germany, at Olympic Stadium next Sunday.