The Falcons are 2-for-4 today on fourth-down conversions but those two that they failed to convert go a long way in explaining why they trail by their biggest deficit of the season at the end of three quarters: 27-0.
The first failed fourth-down conversion came at the end of the first half when the Eagles made a goal-line stand to stop the Falcons at the Eagles' 1. The second came with 3:39 left in the third quarter and Chris Redman, under pressure, threw his first interception of the season and Sheldon Brown "Sheldon Brown (American football)") returned it 83 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-0.
Prior to today, the Falcons' largest deficit of the season was the 16 points that they ultimately lost the New England&t=h "New England") game by. They also trailed both New Orleans&t=h "New Orleans") and the New York Giants by 14 before closing both of those gaps.
The quarter began inauspiciously for the Falcons. Methodically, the Eagles went 80 yards in 12 plays and took 6:52 off the clock to build a 20-0 lead. The Falcons didn't touch the ball until 8:02 remained in the period. The Eagles had five first downs on the drive and converted a fourth-down at the Falcons' 45 on a 1-yard run by Eldra Buckley.
The drive culminated in Michael Vick's 5-yard touchdown run, Vick's first touchdown of the season.
At the end of the quarter, the Falcons are driving and have the ball at the Eagles' 42, but are still having trouble getting in a flow.
Chris Redman has completed 14 of 31 passes (45 percent) for 147 yards for a 46.0 rating. On third down, the Falcons are 2-for-11 and overall they have 196 yards total offense.
