FOXBOROUGH — Everything you need to know about the Patriots' big win over the Falcons in quickie form:
HEADLINES
These are the Patriots you’ve been looking for: No Jedi Mind Trick needed here. The Patriots finally played like we all thought they would at the beginning of the year. The offense was a well-rounded attack (featuring a running game the Patriots thought they’d have in the Super Bowl), the defense made the Falcons fight for every yard, and the special teams even made a play (blocked field goal by Cassius Marsh). Pretty much everything worked for the Patriots as they executed at a very high level on all three units, and for 60 minutes.
Falcons poked the bear: After playing the Patriots to a scoreless draw for much of the first quarter, the Falcons faced a fourth-and-2 at the New England 48-yard line with 6:07 left in the opening stanza. Instead of trying to pin the Patriots deep, Falcons coach Dan Quinn — in an obvious emotional decision in an attempt to give his sagging team confidence — elected to go for it. The Falcons converted, but eventually got nothing on the drive when Marsh blocked a 37-yard field. The disrespect shown on the fourth-down attempt, combined with the lift given by Marsh’s heroics, seemed to knock the competitive cobwebs from the Patriots. Suddenly, they morphed into their old championship selves.
Patriots are becoming balanced: After averaging 3.5, 3.9 and 3.0 per rushing attempt in the first three games, the Patriots have averaged 4.2, 4.9, 4.7 and 4.5 per rush in the past four, and had a season-high 162 yards on Sunday night against the Falcons. All four backs had their moments, even on the ground. Dion Lewis ran 13 times for 76 yards, including the four-minute offense to finish off the game. Mike Gillislee popped a 14-yard run. Rex Burkhead, in his return to the lineup, had three 9-yard carries en route to a 5.2 average, and James White averaged 4.8 yards on four attempts. Want to keep your quarterback from getting beaten up? Run the ball more effectively. Patriots are now showing they can do it, and the offensive line and Josh McDaniels (for finding a way to use all of them) should be lauded as well.
TURNING POINT
Tempted to go with the Marsh blocked kick, but that was more of a tone-setter than game-changer. We'll go with this sequence here:
- Adam Butler's first career sack to make it third-and-20 with 2:36 left;
- Quinn decided again to go on fourth down, this time fourth-and-6 from the New England 47 with 2:36 left even though the Falcons would receive the ball to start the second half;
- Jonathan Jones had tight coverage of Mohamed Sanu to cause the incompletion;
- Tom Brady completed an 18-yard back-shoulder throw to Brandin Cooks to the Atlanta 11-yard line with 36 seconds remaining;
- Brady hit James White on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left before halftime.
WR Chris Hogan: