Falcons melt down in the second half to lose 24-21 to Colts
The old saying goes, if you let teams hang around, odds are they will come back to beat you and that’s exactly what the Indianapolis Colts did to the Atlanta Falcons en route to a demoralizing 24-21 loss.
The Falcons drop to 6-4 with the loss and now find themselves clinging on for dear life to the last wild card spot in the NFC. The Falcons have now lost four out of their last five games after starting the season off with a perfect 5-0 record.
After an ugly start, the Falcons scored back-to-back touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead midway though the second quarter, but the Colts added a touchdown late in the first half to cut the Falcons’ halftime lead to 14-7.
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After the Colts tied the game at 14-14, the Falcons marched down the field and regained the lead after Matt Ryan connected with Leonard Hankerson on the goal line to give the Falcons a 21-14 lead.
With the Falcons backed up at their own 1-yard line, Ryan was picked off by D’quell Jackson who then returned it for a quick touchdown to tie the game at 21-21.
The Falcons went three-and-out on their next two possessions which helped set up an Adam Vinatieri game winning field goal with just under a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Ryan and the Falcons had 47 seconds and no timeouts to try to tie the game up.
Julio Jones appeared to make an unbelievable catch in double coverage in field goal range, but was unable to complete the catch as he fell to the ground. Two plays later with 1 second remaining Ryan was picked off by Colby Fleener to give the Colts the 24-21 victory.
What started as such a promising year has quickly spiraled out of control.
The Falcons host the NFC North leading Minnesota Vikings next Sunday in what will likely be a must-win game if the Falcons want to keep their postseason chances alive.