Parker Romo got his job as the Falcons’ kicker after Younghoe Koo missed a crucial kick in Week 1, but Romo might have jeopardized his future in Atlanta on Sunday.
Wide receiver Drake London’s third touchdown catch of the day cut the Patriots’ lead to 24-23 with 4:40 left to play and the Falcons just needed Romo to make an extra point to tie the score. Romo, who spent time with the Patriots during training camp, missed the kick and the Falcons were left with more work to do.
Their defense did its part when Jalon Walker batted down a third down pass to force a punt. Bijan Robinson ran for a first down and Michael Penix hit London for another, but the quarterback threw a pair of incompletions to slow things down. The second came right after he took a snap in shotgun and Penix was flagged for intentional grounding to push the Falcons back ahead of a punt.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had two turnovers and had not moved the ball well after the Patriots took a 21-7 lead in the first half, but he came up with the play the Patriots needed to ice the game. He hit tight end Hunter Henry for 17 yards on third down and the Patriots were able to take a knee from there.
The win is the sixth in a row for the Patriots and it assures they will remain in first place in the AFC East regardless of what happens when the Bills host the Chiefs later on Sunday. The 7-2 club will move on to a road game against the Buccaneers in Week 10 and they’ll look for a cleaner outing from both their quarterback and their pass protection. Maye was sacked six times, including a Walker sack that led to a fumble the Falcons turned into a touchdown late in the first half.
The Falcons have now lost three straight games and they’ll try to stop the bleeding in Germany against the Colts next Sunday. Having London in the lineup will be a plus to that effort and figuring out how to get Bijan Robinson going in the run game would be another big step in the right direction for the 3-5 Falcons.
