I mentioned last week that the Falcons simply aren’t built to match a quick strike team like the Bengals blow for blow. That held true as Marcus Mariota and the offense couldn’t keep up with the Bengals, who wrecked shop relentlessly against the Falcons defense.
That was one of those games that if the Falcons weren’t effective in controlling the tempo, keeping the chains moving and finishing drives with touchdowns, it could get out of hand in a hurry. There were just too many opportunities missed for the Falcons to even compete.
While it was certainly encouraging to see the team continuously fight throughout the game, this simply wasn’t a good match up for the Falcons as a whole.