Will it be too little, too late or better late than never?
That’s probably one of the first questions you’re asking yourself after the Atlanta Falcons turned the Indianapolis Colts into glue on Christmas Eve, turning a 7-0 deficit after an opening Indy drive into an impressive, all-three-phases-clicking 29-10 victory. The Colts had been 5-1 in their previous six games and had put together a couple of dominant efforts against bad teams in prior weeks; in this one, the Falcons strung together long scoring drives, smothered a previously hot Colts offense, and saw Younghoe Koo return to form and bang in five field goals. It was the most dominant win of the season by a country mile, and the kind of effort we thought we might get from this team on a more regular basis in 2023. The fact that it took until Week 16 to see this kind of lopsided result, and that it came against one of the better teams on Atlanta’s schedule, makes it equal parts baffling, infuriating, and enjoyable.
Taken in isolation, though? What a fun damn game. The Falcons answered the Colts’ opening touchdown drive with one of their own thanks to some pretty passing from Taylor Heinicke, and Koo repeatedly enlarged the lead with his field goal tries. Add in some really fun runs, including a huge Tyler Allgeier touchdown scamper, and you had plenty of offense from a team that too often scores too little. Defensively, the Falcons didn’t just smother an effective Colts ground game, they also delivered six sacks and plenty of highlight-worthy plays against the Indianapolis aerial attack, including yet another Jessie Bates interception. It reminded me of the out-of-nowhere, hugely dominant win over the 49ers in 2022, when the Falcons took it to a better team for a convincing win. As 2023 Sundays go, this was about as good as it gets, and I genuinely delighted in watching the Falcons stomp the Colts.
In the bigger picture, this may or may not cloud Arthur Smith’s future with the team. I’ve said before and will repeat again that Arthur Blank and Rich McKay should absolutely not make a decision based on what Smith does over the final three games, especially if it upends the way they were leaning previously, but if the team was leaning toward keeping him (as I suspect) this game will only add to their pro list. The importance of paying attention to the full picture when evaluating Smith is something I’ll harp on, whether or not ownership and the front office are actually listening. Either way, the Falcons are still nominally in the playoff hunt with the Seahawks and Saints having lost, though the division is on shakier ground with the Buccaneers crushing the Jaguars. Winning their final two games and crossing their fingers is about the best they can do.
For one Sunday, though, we got a holiday-adjacent look through the window at another world, one where things went the way they were supposed to for this 2023 Falcons squad and a thumping was delivered to a quality team. As gifts go, it’s one that arrived late and doesn’t carry the weight it might’ve before the optimism withered away, but I did appreciate the glimpse. Now it’s up to the Falcons to finish out the season, make what push they will, and then make considered and smart choices for their coaching staff and quarterback position, among other critical decisions to come.
On to the full recap, and Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate.
The Good
- The Falcons went to Taylor Heinicke earlier this year looking for a spark, and they only got that for a half against the Titans and a couple stretches in the following two games. This time, they went back to him searching for a spark in even more desperate times, and Heinicke got the fire roaring. On the opening drive of the game, Heinicke threw one bonehead ball that was nearly picked off, but he rallied to throw a sharp ball to Scotty Miller on third down and then a beautiful deep ball over a defender and right into the hands of an open Kyle Pitts for a touchdown. The rest of the afternoon, Heinicke picked up yards on runs when he needed to, made some impressive (if sometimes unwise) tight window throws, and despite some close calls avoided turnovers to engineer some long, quality drives. Given how many terrible mistakes Ridder made and how unproductive the offense too often was with the young quarterback at the helm, the fact that Heinicke looked pretty comfortable and confident and did not turn the ball over was a massive improvement. He’ll hope to keep it rolling against the Bears.