Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
The Falcons blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and lost.
While that did, in fact, happen last night against the Dolphins, there’s a good chance the thing that will cling to them this time is Devonta Freeman’s performance right after signing his new contract.
The newly rich running back caught a touchdown pass on their first possession, as the Falcons offense didn’t appear to have lost a beat from last year, when they led the league in scoring. Of course, they have a new offensive coordinator (Steve Sarkisian), but Freeman and most of the same parts from last year’s Super Bowl team (though wide receiver Julio Jones didn’t play).
“It was just about me competing, doing what I love to do,” Freeman said, via the Associated Press.
It had to be encouraging for the Falcons, who just gave him a five-year contract extension worth $41.25 million, which made him (for now) the highest-paid running back in the league.
“We’re really thrilled to get this deal gone, knowing what a significant factor he is for us,” coach Dan Quinn said.
As to the game itself, last night’s lead was a mere 20-10 in the fourth quarter, and the Dolphins reserves scored 13 unanswered in the fourth quarter to come back for the win. It wasn’t blowing a 28-3 lead to the Patriots, but it was against an AFC East team, so the Falcons’ offseason plans to forget about their Super Bowl flop are going to take a bit longer to implement.