The Eagles denied the Falcons yet again.
Atlanta took the opening kickoff, and in seven plays, moved to the Philadelphia 6-yard line. Devonta Freeman gained 5 yards on first down from the 6. He was stopped for no gain on second down; Matt Ryan threw incomplete to Freeman on third down; and the Falcons decided to go for it on fourth down.
Freeman tried to run it in around left end and was stopped for a 1-yard loss.
It brought back memories of the playoff game when the Falcons drove it to the 9 with 1:19 remaining. Atlanta got it to the 2, where Ryan’s pass to Julio Jones fell incomplete on fourth down. The Eagles won 15-10.
On Thursday night, the Falcons did get a field goal out of their good field position by forcing the Eagles into a three-and-out and then driving 41 yards in nine plays. Atlanta, though, again ran into trouble deep in Philadelphia territory, running three plays inside the 10 without getting into the end zone.
Matt Bryant kicked a 21-yard field goal with 5:01 remaining in the first quarter for a 3-0 Eagles lead.