The Falcons have a history of giving up huge leads and it looked like it might happen again against the Broncos this Sunday.
A Todd Gurley touchdown run put the Falcons up 34-13 with just over nine minutes left to play and that seemed to spark some life into the Broncos. They drove 69 yards in 1:45 for a Tim Patrick touchdown catch and then went 82 yards on another touchdown drive that cut the lead to 34-27 with less than two minutes to play.
Drew Lock ran the ball in for that score and he got the ball back on his own 20-yard-line with 44 seconds to play in the game. Three incompletions left the Broncos in dire straits and their fourth down snap hit a receiver in motion to force a fumble that the Falcons recovered to ice their win.
It’s the third win in four games since the Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn and General Manager Thomas Dimitroff. Matt Ryan was 25-of-35 for 284 yards and three touchdowns. He spread the ball around, hitting eight receivers over the course of the afternoon, and connecting with three different targets on his touchdown throws.
Lock heated up late for the second week in a row, but the Broncos need to find a way to keep from falling way behind on a weekly basis if they want to find their way into playoff contention. They are now 3-5 with a trip to Las Vegas on the docket for next weekend.
Atlanta is 3-6 and they’ll have a bye week before returning to face the Saints in Week 11. Pushing into contention may be a bridge to far, but avoiding another choke job means it could be a possibility if all falls into place.