Atlanta Falcons vs. Oakland Raiders: 5 reasons the Falcons won

The Atlanta Falcons came away with their first win of the season against the Oakland Raiders. Let’s take a look at the reasons why.

After a disappointing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Atlanta Falcons came away with a much-needed win in Oakland today. A fun, crazy-at-times game had Atlanta hold on for a thrilling 35-28 victory. There were some mistakes; missed tackles, dumb penalties, and a red zone turnover, but a win’s a win. Many players stepped up and made big plays in order for this team to escape the Black Hole with a 1-1 record.

Although a victory is always a good thing, the Falcons have to clean up those aforementioned mistakes if they want to build on this and have a successful season moving forward.  There were too many instances when the Falcons defense had the Raiders stopped on a 3rd down, only to commit a boneheaded penalty to extend Oakland’s drive. The defense struggled with tackling again this week, for something Coach Dan Quinn emphasizes, that has to change. Thankfully, they made just enough stops, including a key one on fourth down in the 4th quarter, to come away with the win.

That said, there were some nice performances by a handful of Falcons players. Let’s take a look at the positives and the reasons why Atlanta won the game.