And it’s not thanks to a courageous Falcons fan starting sh*t in the middle of a Raider Nation crowd, but rather two (then a third) card-carrying (or at least jersey-owning) members of the team’s support getting into one of the most slow-developing fights you’ll ever see, resulting in the loser-actually, let’s call him the “defeated” due to the high probability that the victors are, in their own ways, losers themselves-getting repeteadly knocked to the ground before being led away by a friend.
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Matt Ryan threw three TD passes, but got a little lucky on the go-ahead one in the fourth quarter. On the stat sheet, the Falcons and Bucs were pretty much even across the board. Regardless of the reason Jones does not play as big of a role as he could and should in this Atlanta offense.
-Raiders starting left cornerback David Amerson sustained a possible concussion with 4:35 left in Sunday’s game when Atlanta’s Tevin Coleman scored on a 13-yard run.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Raiders are 4.5-point home favorites versus the Falcons, while the over/under now sits at 48 points. The defense has given up more than 500 yards during each of the first two games of the National Football League regular season. Oakland did struggle to contain New Orleans fast paced offense on turf, and their defense paid for their mismatches.
A man in a Derek Carr jersey made a decision to pick a fight with a much bigger Khalil Mack supporter. Del Rio blames the issues on defense on mental lapses, which he places on himself and the staff for not properly preparing them. “At some point you have to make a play if you’re going to win the game”. Unfortunately they were unable to move the ball, and punted it right back to the Falcons. Through two games, the Panthers, Falcons, and Bucs are all 1-1, while the Saints are 0-2. The reality is that the Raiders’ defense, in the one-word estimation of Mack, “sucks”.
Ryan found his tight ends seven times last week against Tampa. Will the defense be able to bounce back and dominate? If there was one bright spot it was the key turnover that helped turn the game around for the Falcons. Oakland has allowed 1,035 yards through two games, the worst mark ever. The Falcon runners gained 139. The Saints lost a heartbreaker at home against the Raiders last week, and then failed to do anything offensively against the New York Giants in Week 2. They also clearly can’t defend the middle, and teams are certainly going to pick at this weakness. 5. This week, Oakland has Atlanta coming to town with their own pair of solid receivers in Julio Jones and Mohammed Sanu, but the grass/dirt conditions should play a factor on the Falcon’s offensive speed.
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The Falcons appeared to stop the Raiders on the opening drive of the second half before a bonehead penalty gave Oakland a second chance.
