On balance this sure was a preseason game, and that is _not_ a compliment. Messy, penalty-soaked, and making you doubt the takes you had just a week ago, this was Atlanta Falcons preseason as its finest, which is still not a compliment.
That was especially true in the first half, when the offense was an utter mess featuring an interception, six penalties, and a lack of anything resembling quality play. Poor run defense and coverage lapses from the defense put the Falcons in a hole and ruined any chance of us enjoying what we were watching, aside from a beautiful Natrone Brooks interception.
The second half improved somewhat, though the defense still largely scuffled. The offense did in fact get going, with Nate Carter, Easton Stick, and Chris Blair providing us with real highlights along the way. We couldn’t exactly forget this was preseason—how could we?—but big plays lift the spirit and pass the time regardless. Players like Blair, Carter, and Brooks helped themselves, while players like Jack Nelson and Lamar Jackson did not.
On balance, it was exactly as messy as you’d expect preseason to be, but had enough big plays and dumb, entertaining moments to prevent us from turning off the TV or falling asleep after halftime the way we’re often tempted to do in glorified exhibition games. I dunno about you, but I’ll take it, especially with the Falcons seemingly avoiding any major injuries; we do need to keep an eye on that Emory Jones injury at the end of the game and hope he’s alright.
Only one more week to go and then we’re on to roster shaping and to regular season action, with a final proving ground for roster hopefuls still to come against Dallas. Here’s the drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched.
Natrone Brooks kicked things off with a solid return on a skipped kick, getting close to the 25. Nate Carter was the first back out and picked up three yards on his initial run up the middle. Easton Stick then hit David Sills for about six yards on a rollout. Stick then picked up the first down on a keeper. A screen to Dylan Drummond went for maybe a yard, and then Carter was stymied on second down immediately. Stick then hit Sills on a sideline ball, and Sills reeled it in and extended for a first down. Carter managed a couple of yards on a game effort, but then Stick had pressure in his face immediately and was sacked for a seven yard loss. A swing pass to Nick Nash lost another yard, and the Falcons elected to punt. Bradley Pinion had a beautiful 55 yard punt that bounced backwards inside the five yard line, and the Titans were pinned deep.
The Titans picked up a few yards on a plunge up the middle. On second down, a lack of pressure let Cam Ward leisurely roll out and find his man for a catch-and-run that went 35 yards. Xavier Watts got the stop on the next run play, but not before the Titans picked up seven yards. On second down, Ward found time to roll out but hit Van Jefferson out of bounds way downfield, and a holding call drawn by Dee Alford backed the Titans up. Ward then whipped one to Jefferson again, but this time Jefferson couldn’t haul in the ball. Ward then tried to throw a swing pass and couldn’t connect with his receiver, throwing behind him and forcing a punt. Alford had the return, spun out of a couple tackle attempts, and got a few yards.
Nate Carter tried to vault on his handoff, but the blocking wasn’t there and he got maybe a yard. Then Easton Stick found David Sills over the middle for a first down. A quick end around to Drummond went for a first down after he took it and ran with it. Carter then zoomed up the middle for eight yards, but was stopped in the backfield on the next play. A quick pass to Carter went for a first down after he managed to slip a tackle. Jashaun Corbin then came in and had no chance on the next carry, losing a yard. Then Easton Stick threw a risky pass that Titans defender Kendell Brooks made a break on and returned for a touchdown, though Tennessee did miss the extra point. **6-0, Titans.**
Coming right back, Stick rolled out and hit Drummond for five yards. Elijah Dotson then picked up two yards up the middle. Stick then threw it deep to Drummond and wasn’t particularly close, and Drummond picked up an offensive pass interference call regardless. Punt.
Julius Chestnut was stopped quickly by JD Bertrand and the cavalry. A lot of motion and a quick swing pass went for a couple of yards after it was sniffed out by Billy Bowman, who disrupted the receiver enough for others to make a tackle.
A Titans false start followed. A low pass over the middle fell incomplete with Josh Thompson and JD Bertrand in coverage. Dee Alford’s punt return was solid, but ruined by a penalty. The Falcons nonetheless soldiered on and did nothing of note, with a false start from Kyle Hinton, Dotson losing a yard, Stick missing downfield, another false start on Elijah Wilkinson, and then a miss downfield to Chris Blair. Punt, and a holding call on the Titans pushed them back a bit.
Cam Ward went for it but tossed it just a bit high on first down, but he got seven yards on second down. Then on third down, a throw that was very physically contested by Dee Alford fell incomplete with no call, thankfully. Punt.
Nate Carter ran 24 yards with a nice burst on first down, but a holding call on Drummond brought it back. A quick pass to Carter went for a few yards. Stick then threw a pretty deep ball to Chris Blair that the receiver couldn’t reel in, with an assist from a Titans defender subtly grabbing his hand. Jack Nelson then got called for a false start, and on a play where a flag was thrown before Stick could pass, he managed to throw an interception nonetheless. Offsetting penalties caused a re-do on the down. On third down (again), Stick found Blair for 12 yards, and the Falcons had to punt. It was another nice one from Pinion, with Josh Thompson picking up the nice special teams tackle.
Brandon Allen came in at quarterback and was rudely greeted by Arnold Ebiketie for a pressure that forced an incompletion. The subsequent carry went for three yards. Allen then found his receiver over the middle for a first down. The first down run was swallowed up swiftly for a slight loss. A quick pass and a stiff arm to Gunnar Helm later, the Titans were at third and short. Allen tried the sneak and got it on first measurement with a LaCale London stop, but a re-measure found they were just short. A carry up the middle was once again iffy, but was ultimately declared a first down. On the next play, pressure from James Pearce forced an errant throw and Natrone Brooks was only too glad to pick it off and return it over 20 yards. Beautiful.
A holding call on Jack Nelson wiped out a decent Easton Stick run. Then Elijah Wilkinson had a false start, followed by Nick Nash scooping up a low pass and managing to turn it into a positive gain of about five yards. Corbin was then stopped cold after less than a yard. On third down, Stick hit Blair again for a good gain that was well short of a first down. That brought out Younghoe Koo for the 42 yard field goal attempt, and he managed to hit. **6-3 Titans.**
Touchback. The Titans picked up four yards on first down, and then got another three yards on a short pass over the middle, which was upheld after a review. A quick swing pass to Chestnut went for a first down. Allen then hit James Proche for 11 yards. Allen then hit Proche again for another first down. Allen went for Gunnar Helm on the sideline again for another first down. Chestnut then picked up about six yards on the ground. Allen then tossed one over the middle to Helm for the touchdown, and the **Titans were up** **13-3.**
Natrone Brooks had another game return to set the Falcons up with decent field position. Stick then went deep to Drummond, but it was deflected by a Titans defender after falling just a bit short. Stick then hit Feleipe Franks for nine yards. Stick then threw it away while escaping pressure on third down. Josh Thompson came up with the nice special teams tackle again, and the half was mercifully over.
A holding call backed the Titans up, and their first down carry went for four yards. The Titans back almost got the edge before a nice Lamar Jackson tackle tripped him up. A pass over the middle fell incomplete, and it was punting time.
A six yard Nick Nash carry was followed by Stick hitting Drummond for 11 yards. Stick then tried to hit Drummond on the sideline, but the high ball went through his hands. On second down, Stick threw it to Nash, who simply couldn’t reel it in. On third down, though, Nate Carter got a couple of solid blocks up the middle, slipped contact, and took off for a touchdown that went 43 yards. Koo’s extra point was close, but good. **13-10 Titans.**
A holding call on the initial kick return should have wiped it out, but the Falcons got a stroke of even better fortune when Teagan Quitoriano stripped and recovered the fumble he caused to give the Falcons the ball back deep in Titans territory. Great special teams play.
Stick hit Drummond for a few yards, Carter got a yard on a carry, and then Stick tried Nash in the end zone but saw the receiver get twisted up a bit. The Falcons instead got the 39 yard field goal from Koo, tying it up at **13-13.**
Another special teams penalty backed the Titans up again. Two carries later, they were sitting at 3rd and 6. An Allen pass was incomplete, but Lamar Jackson was it with pass interference and the Titans had a first down. A screen pass then picked up a first down, and a sideline ball went for about seven yards. A carry up the middle for Jordan Mims picked up a first down. Henry Black walked gingerly off the field after the play for the Falcons. Mims then took it outside for an easy first down, picking up six yards on the next carry. Brandon Dorlus got the tackle for loss, backing the Titans up a yard, and then an Allen scramble picked up eight yards. Mims picked up a combined seven yards on his next two carries before Allen hit Xavier Restrepo for 13 yards despite being under pressure, with Natrone Brooks missing the tackle. Jermar Jefferson then got loose after Caleb Johnson couldn’t bring him down and ran for an easy touchdown, making it **20-13 Titans.**
A toss to Elijah Dotson went for three yards. Stick then scrambled for 12 yards, followed by Corbin losing a yard. Then the big play returned, with Stick throwing a sideline laser to Blair, who turned a step on the defender into an easy touchdown. That was the second straight week where that connection paid off for a touchdown, and tied it back up **20-20.** Unfortunately, Lenny Krieg was penalized for a kickoff short of the landing zone, and Jordan Mims took it 12 yards to end the quarter.
Mims then took it three yards before a four yard loss courtesy of LaCale London. Trevor Siemian then found James Proche for 12 yards, followed by a four yard Jefferson carry and a dropped short pass. Siemian then connected on back-to-back passes for 21 yards in total. A nine yard Mims run got the Titans close to a touchdown, but Caleb Johnson backed him up a couple of yards on a tackle for a loss. Siemian then tried Mims on a short pass that went nowhere thanks to Ronnie Harrison Jr. Joey Slye hit the short field goal to make it **23-20, Titans.**
Emory Jones was in the game. Corbin took the first carry and fought through contact for three yards, and then a nice 16 yard Jones run was wiped out by a holding penalty on Jordan Williams. Jones then hit Quincy Skinner for ten yards before trying DJ Chark on the sideline, and Chark leapt and grabbed it but was pushed out of bounds in midair. Punt.
Jermar Jefferson lost a yard as the Falcons swarmed into the backfield, with Nick Kubitz earning the tackle. Siemian then missed on back-to-back passes, with the third down pressure from Zach Harrison and DeAngelo Malone ensuring trouble. Punt.
Emory Jones tried Jessie Matthews on first down down the sideline, and it was smart to try because Matthews drew the pass interference on the way. Jones then missed Skinner on a downfield pass that was nearly picked off before Matthews took it six yards on a short catch. Corbin then took it five yards for a first down, following that up with a two yard pickup. Jones then showed off his wheels and picked up six yards again, but the play clock nearly wound down before Morris called a timeout on the next play. Jones then got away from pressure long enough to launch one to Chark near the end zone, but he couldn’t reel it in. The offense was slow to get set and then Jones desperately clapped for the snap but couldn’t get it, forcing Morris to call another timeout. Jones then scrambled to try for the fourth down conversion, but was injured on the play after coming up just short and absorbing some big hits. Turnover on downs.
A quick run stop by Dontae Manning was followed by a five yard pickup on the ground. On third down, multiple Falcons just missed a sack opportunity that rookie Simeon Barrow ultimately finished off. Punt.
With Jones out, Stick came back in, hitting Skinner for four yards on first down. Stick then hit Matthews for seven, Dotson for six, and Chark for 11, spiking the ball to stop the clock. He ate a sack on the next play and wasn’t able to connect with Matthews following that, with a final fourth and long deep ball to Matthews also falling incomplete. Game.
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