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Week 5 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 13, Tennessee Titans 20
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
Despite taking the lead at three different times during the game, the Falcons found great difficulty in passing the ball in the second half, providing Byron Leftwich with his first action in an Atlanta uniform. After an efficient first half, Joey Harrington struggled in the next twenty minutes and finished the day with just 87 passing yards while completing 16 of 31 passes. Harrington finished with one interception on a ball which he threw behind his receiver. Upon entering with nine minutes remaining in the game and the Falcons trailing 20-13, Leftwich completed his first two passes, but wasn't anywhere close to his receivers on any of remaining passing attempts, ending the day by going two of eight for 28 yards and one interception. Furthermore, he failed to tie the game up despite having a first and goal situation from the one yard line in the waning minutes.
Both quarterbacks spread the ball around, with five Falcons finishing between five and eight targets. Roddy White led the team in yards with three catches for 55 yards, while rookie Laurent Robinson outpaced White in receptions with four catches for 27 yards. Joe Horn, Michael Jenkins and Alge Crumpler were all thrown to often, though none accumulated more than four receiving yards on the afternoon. Out of the backfield, Warrick Dunn picked up twelve yards on two catches, while Jerious Norwood added four yards on two receptions.
The Falcons had very little success running the ball most of the afternoon against the difficult Titans rush defense, with the long run of the day coming at the end of the game when Warrick Dunn broke multiple tackles to nearly score a touchdown and tie up the game. Dunn finished with 27 yards on ten carries. His counterpart Jerious Norwood received six attempts and gained 23 yards. Artrose Pinner was credited with a 49 yard run on a fake punt, where the ball was snapped to the upback, who handed it to Pinner breaking through the line.
| Tennessee Titans |
Despite five turnovers, the Titans escaped with a victory. Vince Young threw three interceptions against the Falcons, finishing 20 of 33 with 157 yards and no touchdowns. The Titans also spread the ball around, with Brandon Jones and Eric Moulds leading the team in targets with six each. Jones finished with more yards, catching three balls for 36 yards, while Moulds hauled in four passes for 31 yards. Roydell Williams pitched in two catches for nineteen yards, while Justin Gage added three receptions for fifteen yards. Bo Scaife led the Titans tight ends in targets, but caught just one short pass for three yards. Fellow tight end Ben Troupe added two catches for 22 yards. Out of the backfield, Chris Brown saw more targets than Lendale White and caught two passes for seven yards.
In the running game, the Titans continued to utilize both running backs fairly equally. LenDale White got the start, but saw less action in the first half after an early fumble, though split time fairly equally in the second half with Chris Brown. White finished the game with 32 yards on twelve carries, while Brown gained 27 yards on ten attempts with a touchdown. After being stacked at the line, Brown broke free to bounce outside for the touchdown on a first and goal situation from the three yard line. Vince Young was credited with 27 yards on eight attempts.
What you ought to know
| QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 16 - 31 - 87 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Harrington struggled in the first twenty minutes of the second half, leading to coach Bobby Petrino's decision to pull him from the game with the Falcons trailing by one touchdown. Prior to exiting, Harrington was averaging less than three yards per passing attempt, and was failing to execute the offensive game plan hinging on completing a high percentage of passes, for which he was just above 50%. The Falcons play the Giants at home on Monday night in week six, giving the coaching staff an extra day to evaluate whom they believe will give the team the best chance to win.
| QB Byron Leftwich, Pass: 2 - 8 - 28 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 3 - 1 - 0 |
Provided with multiple opportunities to bring the Falcons back in this game, Leftwich failed to do in his first action with the club. Leftwich was missing high and long on most of his passes, including a wide open Laurent Robinson on a deep out pattern. Later in the fourth quarter near the Titans goal line, he took a sack on fourth down to end the series and the game for the Falcons.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 10 - 27 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (4 targets) |
Dunn could not find much space throughout most of the game, but looked very strong in breaking four or five tackles on an eighteen yard gain in the final minutes in which he nearly scored. On the next play, a bad pitch from Byron Leftwich as Leftwich was being tackled prevented him from being able to take the ball in to even up the game.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 6 - 23 - 0, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (3 targets) |
Norwood saw less time on the playing field compared to his counterpart Warrick Dunn, though had a higher average per carry, gaining 3.8 yards per carry to Dunn's 2.7 yards per carry.
| WR Roddy White, Rush: 1 - -2 - 0, Rec: 3 - 55 - 0 (8 targets) |
White led the team in targets, but wasn't able to do much with his attempts. White was targeted on a slant pattern in the red zone in which he took his eye off the ball and pulled up to avoid a big hit from the safety. White was the intended target on Byron Leftwich's interception.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (8 targets) |
Robinson seemed to be open with regularity in this game, including late in the game, when he found himself wide open in the left side of the end zone, though was badly overthrown by Byron Leftwich.
| WR Joe Horn, Rec: 2 - 3 - 0 (7 targets) |
Horn's targets were spaced out throughout the game, though he never got into a groove with either Joey Harrington or Byron Leftwich in this game.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jenkins was the targeted receiver on Joey Harrington's interception. The ball was thrown behind Michael, but in trying to make a play, he deflected it into the Titans cornerback's hands, who returned it for a touchdown.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 2 - 4 - 0 (6 targets) |
The Titans were able to shut down Crumpler, though he was the receiver Byron Leftwich was trying to get the ball to in the back of the end zone late in the game from nine yards out.
| PK Morten Andersen 2 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Andersen converted on field goals from 28 and 32 yards, but missed short from 48 yards. Punter Michael Koenen was called upon to attempt the long range field goals, though Koenen missed from 50 and 53 yards, sailing wide left and coming up short respectively.
| ATL Rush Defense |
The Falcons rush defense were able to force a fumble by Lendale White, and kept the pair of Titans running backs to 59 yards on 22 carries, and the team to just 92 yards.
| ATL Pass Defense |
With three interceptions and a forced fumble returned for a touchdown, the Falcons pass defense had a pretty good day against Vince Young and company, though they were unable to pick up a sack on the afternoon.
| QB Vince Young, Pass: 20 - 33 - 157 - 0 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 8 - 27 - 0 |
While Young threw three interceptions, the Titans still persevered for a victory over the Falcons in front of the home crowd. Young completed just over 60% of his passes, but averaged less than five yards per passing attempt.
| RB Chris Brown, Rush: 10 - 27 - 1, Rec: 2 - 7 - 0 (3 targets) |
Brown made a very nice run on his three yard touchdown, bouncing the ball out of a crowded line and breaking free of a couple of would-be tacklers as he ran free to the left. This touchdown came on first and goal from the three yard line following a timeout, which gave the Titans the opportunity to choose either running back. Brown was also the preferred back in passing situations.
| RB LenDale White, Rush: 12 - 32 - 0 (1 targets) |
White opened the game as the starter, but saw his carries decline throughout the first half after a fumble that was returned for an Atlanta TD when he had found an opening to the right outside. The Titans went back to splitting carries in the second half, and utilized White on their final drive to try to run out the clock, though unsuccessfully. White received twelve carries to counterpart Chris Brown's ten.
| WR Eric Moulds, Rec: 4 - 31 - 0 (6 targets) |
Moulds saw the majority of his targets on the final series of the first half to help the Titans tie up the game at ten.
| WR Justin Gage, Rec: 3 - 15 - 0 (5 targets) |
Gage saw his targets dispersed throughout the game, primarily on first and third downs when the Titans lined up three to four receivers.
| WR Brandon Jones, Rec: 3 - 36 - 0 (6 targets) |
Jones very nearly came down with a touchdown on a long pass that seemed certain to be intercepted, but had the ball roll off his hip as he tried to hold onto the ball.
| TE Bo Scaife, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (4 targets) |
Scaife did not pick up a catch until very late in this game, and was outpaced in production against the Falcons by teammate Ben Troupe.
| PK Rob Bironas 2 - 3 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points |
Bironas connected successfully from 30 and 40 yards, but missed wide left from 47 yards.
| TEN Rush Defense |
The Titans shut down the combination of Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood, limiting them to just fifty yards combined and kept the Falcons out of the end zone.
| TEN Pass Defense |
In addition to two interceptions and two sacks, the Titans held the Falcons to 115 yards passing and a completion percentage less than 50%.
