5 immediate reactions from Falcons' agonizing overtime loss to Ravens

The Atlanta Falcons were riding high entering Week 5, as they were coming off two consecutive dominant road wins over the Packers and Saints that saw the offense average 40 points per game since Michael Penix Jr.'s return--and while it's promising, it's too small of a sample size to generate any meaningful takeaways.

While more people in league circles are starting to believe in the Falcons, they needed another statement performance to prove they were legit--and that came on Sunday Night Football against a talented Baltimore Ravens team that was not to be underestimated despite missing Lamar Jackson.

And Kevin Stefanski was right for saying the Ravens were not to be underestimated. Atlanta led by eight with 2:31 to play, yet the Ravens took it to overtime and won, where Tua Tagovailoa (who came in to replace Penix) threw a game-losing interception as the Falcons lost 30-23 in overtime.

The Ravens milked most of the clock in overtime which put the Dirty Birds in a tough spot, and it was a pretty brutal collapse all things considered. So while the bounds are still fresh, let's go over some immediate reactions from the loss because this was a game they absolutely should have won.

The Atlanta Falcons just suffered their most devastating loss in quite some time

The run defense isn't as good as we expected, but it's still good

Through four weeks, the Falcons owned the NFL's best run defense by a wide margin. They were allowing just 48.3 rushing yards per game entering Week 5, but it was unclear how legit that production that was given it came against Jaylen Warren, Chuba Hubbard, MarShawn Lloyd, and Alvin Kamara. They hadn't faced much adversity, but we knew their first real test was about to come.

Containing the top backs in the league was where Atlanta struggled last season, so they were well aware of the damage Derrick Henry and this Baltimore run game could do--even without Lamar Jackson out there. So as you'd expect, these historic numbers came back down to earth a bit.

The Dirty Birds surrendered 208 rushing yards to the Ravens on just under six yards a carry, including a 47-yard run by Justice Hill. And while Henry still wore down this defensive front. And given Huntley can move too, Declan Doyle dialed up concepts that saw them gash us on the ground.

Like let's not get it twisted. This unit is still plenty good, but this was definitely a bit of a reality check.

Michael Penix Jr. was nails when the Falcons needed him to be

Michael Penix Jr. has ignited this Falcons offense since his return in Week 3, and while his Week 5 performance was far from perfect, he came through whenever a big play was needed. Since it wasn't Bijan Robinson's brightest day, they had to rely on the downfield passing game more than anticipated.

Per ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Penix completed nine of 14 pass attempts for 163 yards and a touchdown on third down, which is the most completions and yards in a game on third down in his career. And he was delivering dimes like this all night as the receivers kept finding soft spots in the Ravens' zone.

At this point we may as well just call third down Third and Penix or Third and London, because that's essentially what it was. Unfortunately, his late rib injury overshadowed the heroics we saw from him earlier on in the game.

The pass-rush continued to dominate

John Abraham was at Mercedes-Benz Stadium tonight because he was getting inducted into the ring of honor, and the Falcons decided to honor him in the best way they could: by getting to the quarterback as frequently as they could, and the blitz meant to stifle Huntley did its job effectively.

Per PFF, they only got 15 pressures on the night, but unlike previous matchups, the sack total was higher than its been. The Falcons amassed a season-high five sacks, which is impressive considering they were missing both Za'Darius Smith and Yasir Abdullah (who was coming off of a breakout game).

Kendal Daniels took advantage of some extra playing time

Across the last two weeks, the Falcons were playing with such commanding leads they were less worried about containing the run. So rather than giving fourth-round rookie Kendal Daniels significant playing time, Atlanta opted to give more run to the better coverage linebacker in Harold Perkins Jr.

But in Week 5, the Ravens' elite rushing attack (plus Jackson's absence) made them have to return to the basics we saw in Weeks 1 and 2. Daniels was going to be asked to play a key role in slowing down a future Hall of Fame running back, and in turn, he delivered his best performance of the season.

Daniels logged his first career sack, a QB hit, a pass breakup, and a career-high eight tackles (seven solo), and is starting to make the Falcons feel more comfortable about the possibility about letting Divine Deablo walk in free agency.

Tua Tagovailoa has not changed one bit

After Penix took a shot on Atlanta's final drive of regulation, he looked to be in too much pain to return to the game (despite returning for a play in regulation after it happened). And while the injury doesn't seem (as of right now) to be anything serious, he was in too much pain to ever return to the game.

And even though the Ravens milked seven minutes off the clock in overtime, he still wasn't good to go, which meant it was Tua Tagovailoa time. It was his time to shine back in the building where he won Alabama the 2018 national championship, but instead proved why nobody wanted to sign him.

On his first pass attempt, he looked to be getting in a solid rhythm, as he connected with London for a 20-yard gain, but then he undid all of that goodwill and proved that even in a new uniform, some things never change, because on the next play, he threw a meatball sub to Kyle Hamilton to seal it.

So as long as Penix is healthy (and hopefully he is), Tua has no business seeing the field.

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