The Atlanta Falcons made big plays in all phases of their game against the Dallas Cowboys to come out on top, 27-21 on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Kirk Cousins put another solid game for the Falcons under his belt, going 19-of-24 passing, with 222 yards and three touchdowns. It’s Cousins’ third game of the season with three or more touchdown passes.
Big plays for the Falcons included stopping a fake punt by the Cowboys, a big fourth down stop and three sacks on the day.
Three sacks may not be a lot for some teams, but it was for the Falcons who came into the game with an NFL-worst six sacks through eight weeks.
“When you’re out there flying around, executing and playing together, that’s when you’re hard to beat,” Falcons’ linebacker Kaden Elliss said in his press conference. “At the end of the day, we spent a little more time this week just being together, being one unit. (Because) when we’re a unit, when we’re a group and we see things the same way, and we go out there and fly around and execute, we’re tough.”
Elliss sacked Cowboys’ quarterback Dak Prescott late in the third quarter to help force a Cowboys’ field goal. It was Elliss’ first sack of the season. He also had a noteworthy 13 combined tackles, one being a fourth down stop early in the second quarter.
“On the pass rush, that was absolutely outstanding to see come to life,” said coach Raheem Morris postgame. “To see your practice preparation, your practice performance become game reality like it did today for the pass rush is something that you like to see.”
The game started with a tight first half, but the Falcons pulled away as the second half went on.
An 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ray-Ray McCloud in the third quarter and a tough touchdown run through multiple defenders by running back Tyler Allgeier, put the Falcons up by 14 with roughly 11 minutes left in the game.
After Prescott exited the game with a hamstring injury, backup Cowboys QB Cooper Rush took over. He eventually led the Cowboys to a touchdown drive with a successful two-point conversion to cut their deficit to 6.
Dallas failed to recover the onside kick after the Rush touchdown drive though, and the Falcons kneeled out the game and improved their record to 6-3.
Receiver Drake London exited the game in the first quarter after catching a scoring pass from Cousins and coming down hard on his hip. His status for the Falcons’ next game remains to be seen.
Luckily for Atlanta, fellow receivers McCloud and Darnell Mooney along with running back Bijan Robinson were able to step up and keep Atlanta’s passing game going. Mooney and Robinson combined for 147 receiving yards and a touchdown for Mooney.
Next week, the Falcons fly to New Orleans to face a Saints team coming off their seventh consecutive loss.
