Atlanta Falcons Season 2014 Game Reviews

Read Atlanta Falcons season 2014 game reviews and relive the best moments of the Falcons’ NFL Season 2014. If you are looking for more recent games, click here to find Atlanta Falcons game reviews of NFL season 2015.

Atlanta Falcons season 2014 recap

Atlanta Falcons appeared in the 2014 NFL League for their 49th time since the cup began. Mike Smith was their head coach, having headed the team for 7 yrs culminating in this year’s contest. Though they managed a couple of wins at the start of the season, they eventually lost focus and were defeated at the NFC South Conference during the last week by Carolina Panthers. This loss officially eliminated them from postseason contests for a 2nd straight year.

Owing to such dismal performance, the board saw it fit to fire Coach Mike Smith on Dec 29th 2014. His last two years with the team resulted in loses. During NFL season 2015 you will be able to follow Atlanta Falcons live streams again.

NFL Week 17: Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers on Sunday, December 28, 1:00 PM, Georgia Dome

The Carolina Panthers and the Atlanta Falcons squared of Sunday in a must win game for both. The victor would be the NFC South champs and earn a first round home game in the playoffs. The Panthers came in very hot winning three straight games and kept it going Sunday. The Panthers defense was unstoppable returning two interceptions for touchdowns, forcing a fumble, and sacking Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan six times. On the offensive side of the ball, Cam Newton looked healthy for the first time all season throwing for 114 yards and a touchdown and rushing for another 51 yards and a touchdown.

The team also rushed for a combined 194 yards. The Falcons looked confused all day on both sides of the ball. There defense could not figure out Cam Newton and the read option offense. Atlanta fans booed their team and their second straight losing season. To finish it all off, Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired head coach Mike Smith today. It was another disappointing loss for the Falcons and their fans, who have one of the leagues higher scoring offenses, but seem to always fall short in the must win games.

NFL Week 16: Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints on Sunday, December 21, 1:00 PM, Mercedes-Benz Superdome

The New Orleans Saints lost their first game to the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, due to a fumble on the second play of overtime, and were expected to be fired up for this game. Unfortunately for the Saints, they didn’t take good care of the ball in this game, turning the ball over four times. Quarterback Drew Brees, was responsible for three of them, throwing two interceptions and losing one fumble, while tight end Jimmy Graham was credited with a fumble, on a controversial play that the Saints thought was a touchdown, but the referees ruled a fumble instead, in what ended up being a turning point in the game.

While the Saints were having trouble holding on to the ball on offense, Matt Ryan continued having success against the Saint’s defense, and followed up his career high game in the season opener, by completing 31-40 passes, for 322 yards, and one touchdown. The Falcon’s defense, which has struggled a lot this year got in on the scoring action, when Osi Umenyiora returned a Drew Brees fumble for an 86 yard touchdown, as time expired.

The win by the Falcons eliminated New Orleans from the playoffs, and set them up with a winner take all showdown with the Carolina Panthers for the NFC South title.

NFL Week 15: Atlanta Falcons vs Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, December 14, 1:00 PM, Georgia Dome

Pittsburgh Steelers registered their 9th win of the season after beating Atlanta Falcons 27-20 during their NFL game on Sunday. The tough offense of the Steelers with the likes of Roethlisberger and Todd Haley was a no match for the Falcons Defense.

The Steelers are making sure that their team goes into the play-offs unlike the previous 2 years with some excellent display of team work and fighting spirit. The Steelers banked on the contributions from Roethlisberger who gave the best for his team with a mission to get it into the play offs.

The Falcons were struggling at 13-0 at one point of the game, after which Devin Hester, Matt Ryan and Roddy White made contributions to the score fighting through the defense with a 17 yard pass, a field goal and 4 yard pass respectively to take their score to a respectable 20.

The upfront performance of the Steelers was enough to get them over the line as the match ended with them wining 27-20!

NFL Week 14: Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers on Monday, December 08, 8:30 PM, Lambeau Field

Green Bay Packers edged of the Atlanta Falcons 43-37 to keep intact their pole position on the NFC North Conference. The win means that the Packers have recorded 5 consecutive straight wins which adds their total tally to 10 wins and 3 losses. They are only tired with Arizona as the best NFC record of the season so far. Aaron Rodgers and Eddie Lacy were the driving force behind the Packers victory. Lacy ran a touchdown and caught one of three Rodgers TD passes building a 24 point lead at halftime. The Falcons rallied an impressive fourth quarter victory which was not enough to beat the Packers. However, the Falcons are guaranteed playoffs.

Julio Jones rallied the Falcons an effort that saw him record a 259 yard receiving which marks his best effort in his career. He also had a 22 yard touchdown which added to the 20 points during the fourth quarter. He was however forced to leave the game due to a hip injury. A 2 yard touchdown from Matt Ryan helped the Falcons trim the Packers lead by 6 points with just 1.37 minutes left.

The Packers will be looking forward to continue their impressive run when they travel to face third placed Buffalo Bills this coming Sunday. On the other hand, the Falcons hope to get their groove back when host Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

NFL Week 13: Atlanta Falcons vs Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, November 30, 4:05 PM, Georgia Dome

Julio Jones led the Atlanta Falcons (5-7, 1st in NFC South) to a victory over the struggling Arizona Cardinals (9-3, 1st in NFC West) by a score of 29 – 18. Jones had 10 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown as the Falcons had 500 yards of total offense. Falcons QB Matt Ryan threw for 361 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception in the victory. Atlanta got off to a fast start, leading 17 – 0 after the first quarter, behind touchdowns from Jones and running back Levine Toilolo. They had the ball on the Arizona 3-yard line on another drive but only managed a field goal.

The Cardinals came storming back in the second, with safety Rashad Johnson intercepting Ryan and returning it 88 yards for a touchdown. After a field goal with just under three minutes left in the half, the Cardinals trailed 17-10. But this was as close as the came. The Cardinals scored a meaningless touchdown with 1:05 left in the game, on a 3 yard pass from QB Drew Stanton to Stepfan Taylor. Stanton finished with 294 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Arizona has lost two straight games and now have only a one game lead over Seattle in the NFC West. They face the Kansas City Chiefs next week. Atlanta leads the NFC South over New Orleans, even though they are 5-7. They play the red hot Green Bay Packers next Monday.

NFL Week 12: Atlanta Falcons vs Cleveland Browns on Sunday, November 23, 1:00 PM, Georgia Dome

Cleveland at Atlanta, better known as Browns and Falcons were out to show that none was lesser than the other was. Although the Browns carried the day, this game had more than this. First, most of the top performers were from Cleveland, the pain of being dominated at a home game was real pain in the fresh for the Falcons. They thus had to stretch further to appease their home fans.

With this, they were able to make away with the first half; this was with a very clean sheet. However, the Browns got such an amazing comeback in the second half and they Clearly manifested their expertise. This was until the blowing of the last whistle. Both teams had a great defense; this is a big reason as to why there was little disparity among the scores. Any team caring the day was not a surprise as the odd was close. The Browns winning gave them an upper hand in running to the stretch run.

For the Falcons, it was merely an extension of hopelessness as they are in great tussle to continue in the league. Although they put up great resistance and brought up better tactics in this game, the question is, will they be able to continue this way and get a better position before the season ends.

NFL Week 11: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers on Sunday, November 16, 1:00 PM, Bank of America Stadium

The Atlanta Falcons are starting to find their way, particularly with the help of their star receiver Julio Jones. The fact that Graham Gano missed two field goals in the game may be a sign that the Panthers need to evaluate their special teams setup. Matt Bryant on the other hand was able to hit four field goals in the game. The solid kicking performance put together by Matt Bryant certainly gave the Falcons a certain amount of momentum going into the second half.

The Panthers still have to figure out what they are going to do at the receiver position. Cam Newton has to make some ill advised throws in order to allude the pressure put on by different teams in the NFC South. Kelvin Benjamin is still trying to learn how to work with Newton when Newton is throwing on the run. They do seem to have a good working relationship with Benjamin catching nine balls in this game. Newton did have two interceptions in the game, but they probably won’t be facing a cornerback with the skills of Desmond Trufant in the future. The Panthers were not able to get enough out of Philly Brown late in the game, this allowed the Falcons to double team Benjamin.

NFL Week 10: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, November 09, 1:00 PM, Raymond James Stadium

Atlanta faced of against Tampa Bay in a battle of two NFC South teams. Both teams came in to the contest needing a victory. The first half of the game proved the importance of the game, as the Falcons lead thirteen to ten at the half. In the second half the Falcons proved that they have too much talent for the rebuilding Buccaneers.

Steven Jackson had a strong rushing game for the Falcons as he ran for eighty-one yards and a touchdown. The top receiver for the Falcons was Julio Jones who caught eight passes for 119 yards. Roddy White caught a touchdown pass. Matt Ryan had a serviceable day at quarterback as he threw for 219 yards and did not have any interceptions.

The Atlanta defense accounted for three turnovers and four sacks. Tampa Bay’s strongest player was wide receiver Mike Evans, he had seven receptions fro 125 yards and one touchdown. Vincent Jackson had 8 receptions for seventy-five yards. The Buccaneers quarterback Josh McCown completed twenty-seven passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The Tampa defense did sack Ryan once for seven yards, but they did not have any turnovers for the game.

Atlanta is playing against Carolina in another NFC South battle. Tampa is traveling to the nations capitol to play Washington.

NFL Week 8: Atlanta Falcons vs Detroit Lions on Sunday, October 26, 9:30 AM, Wembley Stadium

The Detroit Lions came from behind to floor the Atlanta Falcons 22-21 in one of the weekends closely fought affairs. The Falcons were quick off the blocks and looked set to win the game when the Lions overturned tables on them unexpectedly. The Falcons ran rings around the Lions defense in the first and second quarters. The Lions defense was in tatters, allowing the Falcons to run away with 14-0 and 7-0 respectively in both quarters.

However, what followed was unbelievable. No one can tell what befell both the Falcons defense and offense. Their defense literally broke down under the barrage of the resurgent Lions offense. It was the turn of the Lions offense to run rings around the Falcons defense. With the Falcons offense contained as well, the Lions took the third and fourth quarters 10-0 and 7-0 respectively for an overall score of 22-17 Sweet victory indeed.

This was the Lions sixth victory this season, but the sixth loss of the season for the Falcons. The bitter loss of the Falcons to the Lions condemned them to the lower parts of the NFL table. How mentally strong they are to rise from the ashes remains to be seen.

NFL Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, October 19, 1:00 PM, M&T Bank Stadium

The Baltimore Ravens Win At Home The Baltimore Ravens won their week seven match against the Atlanta Falcons at the M&T Bank Stadium. The big 29-7 underlined their credentials as one of the emerging formidable sides this season. They dominated the entire match and should have won by an even bigger margin. By the end of the third quarter, they were leading by a massive twenty points. It was in the third quarter that the Falcons emerged from the ashes to garner seven against the Ravens nine. Their solid and dominant defense carried the day for the Ravens. This was the Ravens second blowout win in a row. In week six, they defeated Tampa Bay 48-17. They have won five of their seven matches so far. Their next opponent is the wounded Bengals.

This was the Falcons fourth straight defeat and the fifth this season. That leaves them with only two victories only this season. They were outplayed in all departments in this match. Their offense hardly troubled the defense of the Ravens, while their defense was easily permeable. They have to work hard and fix the shaky departments before taking on their next opponent. The Falcons meet the Detroit Lions at the Wembley Stadium in London.

NFL Week 6: Atlanta Falcons vs Chicago Bears on Sunday, October 12, 1:00 PM, Georgia Dome

This match up saw Devin Hester looking to get a little bit of payback at the expense of his former team. The wide receiver/kick returner extraordinaire has become a larger part of the Falcon’s offensive look than he ever did during his tenure with the Bears. However, the Bears got the better of this battle, winning 27 to 13 and holding Hester to 23 yards on 1 reception.
For Jay Cutler, it was a much-needed stellar performance after a pair of disappointing second halves in previous weeks. He threw for 381 yards and one touchdown to Josh Morgan. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey, having battled injuries over the past month, both chipped in with 100+ efforts.

As usual for the Bears, the star was Matt Forte. 80 yards rushing, 77 yards receiving and two touchdowns are proof of the impact he had on the game last Sunday.

For the Falcons, Matt Ryan looked uncharacteristically stumped by the lagging Bears secondary, completing only 19 of 37 passes. As a result, the offense never seemed to get going. Marquee receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White had a significant number of dropped passes, further complicating affairs for the offense. This is bad news for the Falcons, who have a tough road game schedule ahead of them.

NFL Week 5: Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants on Sunday, October 05, 1:00 PM, MetLife Stadium

The New York Giants thrashed the Atlanta Falcons 30-20 in a match played at the MetLife stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons who had been leading for the most part of the game were surprised when tables turned in the fourth quarter. A draw in the first half (7,7) a lead in the second half (6,3) saw the falcons dominate the better third of the game. In the fourth quarter, the cheering home ground fans motivated the Giants to gain momentum over the struggling Falcons to claim the win.

A calculated pass from Eli Manning saw Rueben Randle’s 3-yard touch down and a kick from Josh Brown place the Giants in the first place with seven points. Steven Jackson’s 10-yard run and a kick from Matt Bryant helped the Falcons equalize the match. Matt Bryant scored two 20-yard field goals in the second half to see the Falcons take a lead in the game. Josh Brown’s 49-field goal did not help the Giants equalize ending the half in Falcons favor. In the third quarter Antone Smith 74-yard score and Matt Bryant’s kick helped falcons maintain their lead. Four consecutive goals from the Giants, two field goals from Josh Brown (50 and 26 yards), a 3-yard run from Andre William and a 15-yard goal enabled them win their third match in a row.

NFL Week 4: Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 28, 4:25 PM, Mall of America Field

The Atlanta Falcons were gashed up front, giving up more rushing yards than they probably expected to the likes of Matt Asiata and Jared McKinnon. Matt Ryan saw some pressure coming from the likes of Vikings rookie linebacker Anthony Barr. Barr was able to record a sack in the game. The Vikings won by a 41-28 score, despite an extremely solid performance from both Steven Jackson and Roddy White.

Teddy Bridgewater was able to show that he is very capable of running the Vikings offense as a young quarterback. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner put him in some very good situations. Harrison Smith continues to be a leader on defense who has proven that he can not only make a large number of open field tackles from the safety position, but Smith can also get after the quarterback for the Vikings. Matt Ryan learned that on Sunday when Smith sacked him. The Vikings continue to get a solid effort from defensive tackle Everson Griffin against a somewhat depleted Falcons offensive line. You start to get the sense that once head Mike Zimmer is able to clean up some of the clear mental lapses, that the Vikings defense should be running on all cylinders. Matt Ryan was able to have some success on check down plays that Zimmer would surely like to see corrected, he doesn’t want to see linebackers misdiagnosing the play.

NFL Week 3: Atlanta Falcons vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, September 18, 8:25 PM, Georgia Dome

The NFL week 3 saw the Buccaneers lose very heavily to a very inspired Falcons side. The Falcons 56-14 win over the Bucs was incidentally one of the Falcons biggest victories in their history. It is actually their second biggest victory in history, eclipsed only by their 1973, 62-7 victory over New Orleans. It also happens to be their only fifth victory with a margin of over forty points. This was one of their best days in office. They were in imperious form, to say the least.

In this game, played on an 18th Thursday night at The Georgia Dome, Atlanta, the Bucs were simply clueless and hapless. They couldn’t measure up to the visitors in all departments. They just couldn’t do anything right. Coming into this game, they had already lost all their first three games of the season. A win would have seen them break the losing streak and inject some new hope and morale in the team. However, they may console themselves that their four of their defensive starters were missing in action. Gerald McCoy was out with a hand injury sustained from their previous game in which they lost to St Louis.

The Falcons victory puts their season on track, boosting their morale ahead of their fifth game of the season. For the Bucs, nothing seems to be working well at the moment. They are like a ship in a sea storm. They have their work cut out if they have to salvage their season.

NFL Week 2: Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, September 14, 1:00 PM, Paul Brown Stadium

The game was between the Falcons and Bengals. Falcons lost to Bengals 12-24 points. The game took place at 1300hours on September 14, 2014. It was held in the Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio. In the first quarter, the two teams scored equal points of 3 points. The Falcons were not able to score any points but the Bengals scored 7 points in second quarter. The same results were seen in second half. Atlanta Falcons did not score any point. However, the Bengals scored 14 points. The last quarter received scores from the Falcons only. At the match end, Atlanta at Cincinnati lost 10-24 points.

Bengal’s Mohamed Sanu caught 3 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. He also gave a 50 yard ball successfully to Brandon Tate. Atlanta Falcons had an under-performing defense against the Cincinnati Bengals. Devonte Freeman dropped a pass made to him by Matt Ryan. Carlos Dunlap hit Matt Ryan just after he had made the throw. Harry Douglas brought it to 41 after catching the fourth down. He however appeared to be hurt after he was hit while going out of bounds. He had gained 16 yards in the process. Atlanta at Cincinnati game was not a very tight game as seen even from the results of the scores.

NFL Week 1: Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints on Sunday, September 07, 1:00 PM, Georgia Dome

The New Orleans Saints surrendered a large number of the yards in passing in franchise history in a 37-34 loss to Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

Below is a summary of the game:

FIRST QUARTER

Saints 3, Falcons 0

The score was a 31-yard field goal achieved by Shayne Graham while the time of possession was 4:27 with a remaining time of 10:33. The key play was recorded when drew Brees hit Brandon Cooks.

Saints 6, Falcons 0

The score was a 50-yard field goal made by Graham with a time of possession of 3:59 and remaining time of 4:39. The key play was recorded where the saints took a number of long shots in the field but they found it difficult to connect. A great play was realized from Pierre Thomas who had an 8-yard reception

SECOND QUARTER

Saints 13, Falcons 0

The score was a 2-yard touchdown by Khiry Robinson with a time of possession of 4:10 and a remaining time of 11:46. The key play was realized when the Saints started with an end-round to Cooks in the quarter that netted 18 yards with an accompanying 21-yard dash by Robinson.

THIRD QUARTER

Saints 20, Falcons 17

Levine Toilolo made a score from a 2-yard touchdown catch from Ryan. The time of possession was 5:37 and a remaining time of 9:22. Ryan made a key play by hitting Julio Jones.

FOURTH QUARTER

Saints 37, Falcons 24

Mark Ingram made a score from a 3-yard touchdown run with the possession time being 6:35 and a remaining time of 8:46.

Follow this link to find out how Atlanta Falcons did in NFL season 2013.