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Don’t look now, but the Atlanta Falcons are on fire.
Atlanta is now 5-1 in its last six games following Sunday’s 27-21 victory over the Dallas Cowboys at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. It is 6-3 overall and sits atop the NFC South as it continues an impressive season in Raheem Morris’ first year as head coach.
Kirk Cousins went 19-of-24 for 222 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions, while Bijan Robinson accounted for 145 yards from scrimmage in a strong showing.
As for the Cowboys, they fell to 3-5 with a third consecutive loss and remain on the outside of the NFC playoff picture. They played without running back Ezekiel Elliott due to “disciplinary reasons,” per ESPN’s Todd Archer, and quarterback Dak Prescott was ruled out in the fourth quarter because of a hamstring injury.
The game was largely in hand for the Falcons by the time Prescott exited, which only added to the frustration from the Cowboys’ side.
That frustration had some upset with head coach Mike McCarthy, especially during a game that included ill-time penalties, an unsuccessful fake-punt and poor overall play:
These teams are heading in opposite directions, which was clear in the early going. Cousins found Drake London—who was ruled out with a hip injury in the aftermath—for the game’s first touchdown and Darnell Mooney for the second one to open up a double-digit lead.
Even when the Cowboys built some momentum with a strip-sack of Cousins, they gave it right back when Atlanta’s defense stuffed CeeDee Lamb on a fourth-down run. It was part of a brutal start for the visiting offense, although Prescott’s touchdown pass to Rico Dowdle cut the halftime deficit to 14-10.
Any good feelings from the Dowdle touchdown were short-lived, though, as McCarthy decided a fake punt inside his own territory was the way to start the second half. It didn’t work, and Cousins hit Ray-Ray McCloud III for a touchdown on the ensuing possession to give the Falcons some more breathing room.
The mistakes and overall sloppy play continued for the Cowboys, who were flagged for too many men on the field on a 4th-and-1 attempt and saw a promising drive stall for just a field goal because of a holding.
It was a similar pattern for the team, which explains why angst is building around McCarthy.
Cooper Rush did lead a touchdown drive to close the deficit after Tyler Allgeier’s touchdown extended the lead to 14 in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons recovered the onside kick to send Dallas into a key divisional showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles with even more question marks.
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