October 14, 2026 – JR McHenry, On-Air Talent/Field Reporter
ATLANTA — A day after the remnants of Hurricane Isaias blew through the Atlanta area, an overcast fall day took shape that allowed the roof at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to be open for Sunday Night Football in a battle of the birds between the Atlanta Falcons and the Baltimore Ravens. Inside and outside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium there was excitement in the air as the Falcons and Ravens were set to square off. The Falcons came in winners of their last two games after the return of Quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. to the lineup providing a spark to the offense. In this game, the Ravens were without the services of Quarterback, Lamar Jackson, who was out with an ankle injury which meant that backup quarterback, Tyler “Snoop” Huntley would get the start for the Ravens.
First Quarter Story
The Ravens took the opening drive for 10 plays and 62 yards resulting in a field goal. It was apparent this drive that the Ravens were trying to give Huntley easy throws to get him into the game with confidence. Also, on this drive they tried to establish “The Big Runner” Derrick Henry as now NBC Sports Analyst, Mike Tomlin calls him. Establishing the run early in the game, especially with a backup quarterback out on the field, allows the team to stay ahead of the chains and continue to give the quarterback favorable reads in 3rd and manageable down and distances. Offensively in the 1st quarter the Falcons sputtered a bit being forced into two punts from Punter, Jake Bailey. The big play for the Falcons in the first quarter came on defense as Ravens Tight End Mark Andrews was forced into a fumble and it was returned by Falcons Safety Jesse Bates III 36 yards for a touchdown to put the Falcons up 7-3.
Second Quarter Story
The Ravens and Falcons had drives that stall out and end in punts. The result of the Falcons punt in that sequence led to the Ravens having a short-field and converting on a field goal to cut the Falcons lead to 7-6. After the drive, Falcons Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the offense got going in a major way with him throwing lasers to Tight End Kyle Pitts Sr., Wide Receiver Drake London and Wide Receiver Jahan Dotson ultimately ending in a touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts Sr giving the Falcons a 14-6 lead. The Ravens ran the remaining 2nd quarter clock out and got a field goal going into halftime reducing the Falcons lead to 14-9 heading into the halftime locker room.
Halftime
This was a special halftime for the Atlanta Falcons organization as they inducted Defensive End John Abraham into the organization’s Ring of Honor. He was joined on the field by other members of the Falcons Ring of Honor. The ceremony was led by former Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith known by most as “Smitty”. There was pregame media availability in which Abraham expressed thanks to Falcons Owner Arthur Blank and many others who touched him during his time as member of the Atlanta Falcons organization.
Third Quarter Story
As the second half commenced, Penix Jr. and the Falcons offense came out looking to establish stud Running Back Bijan Robinson, they did, so much so that Robinson broke off a 38 yard run to set up the Falcons goal-to-go in Ravens territory. The Falcons sprinkled trickery into the proceedings trying to sneak Offensive Lineman Jake Matthews out in the pattern as a tackle-eligible, unfortunately that pass was incomplete, ultimately leading to Falcons field goal to increase the lead to 17-9. On their next opportunity with the ball, the Ravens got back to trying to get their running backs involved, leading to an 18 yard touchdown to Derrick Henry from Tyler Huntley for a new score of 17-15 in the Falcons favor. On their last drives of the 3rd Quarter neither team did much on offense.
Fourth Quarter Story
The Falcons went on a 16 play, 74 yard drive that lasted 8 minutes and 26 seconds in length chewing up the majority of the 4th Quarter clock, the only downside to this drive is that it ended in a field goal rather than a touchdown, keeping it a one score game by the score of 20-15. The Falcons defense stepped up big and forced the Ravens into a 3 and out bringing the tired Ravens defense back on the field. The Falcons go on another double digit play drive, 10 plays to be exact for 52 yards taking another 3 minutes and 52 seconds off the clock but only getting a field goal to show for it making it a score of 23-15 keeping it a one score game allowing the Ravens to score and get a 2 point conversion to the tie the game. What did the Ravens do? They marched down the field in 6 plays over 1 minute and 51 seconds to tie the game after a touchdown reception by Wide Receiver Devontez Walker and the 2 point conversion by Running Back Derrick Henry to tie the game at 23. Falcons Quarterback Michael Penix. Jr. was injured on the final drive to try to win the game, he came back in, but the Falcons punted to run the clock out.
Overtime Story
The Ravens won the coin toss prior to Overtime and chose to receive the ball to begin the period rather than play defense first to see what they have to do to match or win the game. The Ravens went on a methodical drive chewing up the majority of the Overtime wearing the Falcons defense down in the process resulting in a 1 yard touchdown run by Ravens Quarterback Tyler Huntley leaving the Falcons 2 minutes and 57 seconds on the Overtime clock. The Falcons chances of scoring in Overtime look promising after backup quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hit Wide Receiver Drake London for a 20 yard pick up but the Overtime and the game ended abruptly after Tagovailoa tried to hit London again but Ravens intercepted him to end the game and drop the Falcons to 2-3 on the season, while Ravens improve to 4-1 on the season.
Postgame Story
Falcons Head Coach Kevin Stefanski lamented the missed opportunities in his postgame comments. He stated that they as a collective did not do enough to win the game. He stated that this is an opportunity to learn and grow as a team. He was proud of the way his guys fought throughout the game. He emphasized how small the margins are in the National Football League. Falcons Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. talked about how he wanted to be out there with his team. He spoke about how he’s missed enough time and it means the world to him to be on the field in the fight with his teammates. He revealed that had the Falcons got the ball first in Overtime, he would have mostly likely been out there on the field, but having to sit the injury got worse and he couldn’t give the team the best opportunity to win the game.
Key Stats
This was a pretty even game statistically. The turnover battle was a draw. The crux to turnovers in the NFL is the timing of the turnover. The Ravens turnover was in the 1st quarter while the Falcons turnover came in overtime. The Falcons were more proficient through the air, while the Ravens made their hay on the ground. The stat the Falcons will regret is only going 1 for 3 in the red zone which could have made the difference in them winning in regulation rather than losing in overtime. The Falcons will be back in action on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Chicago Bears at 1pm Eastern on FOX.
JR McHenry is On-Air Talent/Field Reporter representing The Bossman Show on Your Radio!
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