Falcons Sputter to 25-0 Loss to Patriots: 'We'll Get Out of This Hole' - Coach Arthur Smith

The Atlanta Falcons played two games this week and didn't score a touchdown.

The last five days for the Atlanta Falcons can be summarized in two sequences from Thursday night's 25-0 loss to New England.

The Falcons faced third-and-1 at the New England Patriots 14-yard line. At the time, the Patriots led by 10.

Not only were the Falcons unable to score their first touchdown since Nov. 7, they didn't get any points on the drive. Matt Ryan took a 13-yard loss with a sack on third down. Then an illegal formation penalty on fourth down turned a 45-yard field-goal attempt for Younghoe Koo into a 50-yarder. The kick from Koo, who came into Thursday with one miss this season and made boot the penalty nullified, went just wide left.

That was Atlanta's best opportunity to score any points until late in the third quarter when the Falcons faced another third-and-1 in the red zone. This time, the Falcons elected to run up the middle two straight times, but the result was the same -- no points.

It wasn't quite as lopsided on the scoreboard like at the Dallas Cowboys, but the Patriots, especially the front seven, dominated Thursday, as New England won its first game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

We're going to get out of this hole,'' said first-year coach Arthur Smith.

The "hole'' is in too many ways actually a canyon. 

Including Super Bowl LI, New England has won seven straight matchups against the Falcons.

The shutout was the first for the Falcons offense in 92 games. Atlanta suffered its last shutout against the eventual NFC Champion Carolina Panthers on Dec. 13, 2015.

The last time an opponent shut out the Falcons at home was Oct. 9, 1988.

Playing without Cordarrelle Patterson, Calvin Ridley and Hayden Hurst, the Falcons offense barely moved the ball. Matt Ryan was under siege all night behind an offensive line which was fully healthy and still completely overmatched.

Atlanta had 64 yards in the first half and finished with just 165 yards. In two games this week, the Falcons had 379 yards and averaged 3.4 yards per play. In the last eight quarters, Ryan has 270 passing yards.

The pregame festivities for the prime-time matchup gave the feeling of a hyped crowd, but otherwise, Mercedes-Benz Stadium was lifeless like the home team. The stadium halo screens showed the Atlanta Braves mascot with the World Series trophy on the field following the first possession of the third quarter in an apparent effort to provide a spark. 

It had no impact.

Atlanta had another opportunity to turn the tide when cornerback A.J. Terrell made a beautiful interception, stepping in front of Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith in the third quarter. (Read more here.)

What a play, @ajterrell_8‼️

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/QCZhS36eVr

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 19, 2021

That ignited the offense a bit, but the ensuing Falcons drive stalled with New England stopping two running plays for no gain on third and fourth down when only one yard would have moved the chains.

The Patriots recorded four sacks, intercepted four passes and held the Falcons to 2 for 11 on third down. Atlanta has converted just three of its last 22 third-down attempts.

Bill Belichick's group capped off the night with two interceptions against backup quarterbacks, including a pick-six on a Josh Rosen pass.

New England out-rushed Atlanta 136-40. The Falcons have averaged less 2.6 yards per carry in two of the last three weeks.

Atlanta didn't average much more through the air. Ryan completed 19 of 28 passes for 153 yards and two interceptions. The Falcons averaged 3.5 yards per pass.

Meanwhile, Mac Jones continued to be the best rookie quarterback in the league. Jones was 22 for 26 for 207 yards with a touchdown and interception.

Not to take anything away from Jones, but the Falcons have been unable to make young signal-callers look inexperienced this year. Atlanta is 1-3 against quarterbacks with 10 or fewer career starts this year.

The loss drops the Falcons to two games below .500 at 4-6 this season. That's the bad news. 

The good news is no one is running away with the wild-card spots in the NFC. Atlanta is also through arguably the toughest stretch of its schedule and will see some winnable matchups upcoming in the next month. The first of which is a must-win contest at Jacksonville on Nov. 28.

But the Falcons won't be able to stay in the playoff hunt much longer if they don't rekindle their offense. They don't have a touchdown in their last 26 offensive drives. They are, in other words, in a hole.

PHOTOS: Falcons vs. Patriots