Wednesday, 28 Oct 2020. 12:09 PM
The pre-match of the meeting presented on RDS at 8:20 p.m. Thursday
CHARLOTTE, NC – Thursday night games in the NFL aren’t always very popular with players. But for those of the Atlanta Falcons and the Carolina Panthers, this week’s duel between rivals in the National Association’s Southern Section is very appealing.
They will then have the opportunity to turn the page on a series of unacceptable mental mistakes that led to the same result last Sunday: defeat.
The Falcons (1-6) let the victory slip away when running back Todd Gurley accidentally scored a touchdown with 1:04 left on the clock, as his team wanted to take their time and pull off a short winning field goal. Instead, the Detroit Lions got all the time in the world to pass 75 yards, score the touchdown and add a one-point convert enough to pull off a 23-22 victory.
The Panthers ‘blunder (3-4) occurred when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater cashed a quarterback sack that resulted in a 3-and-11 situation at the New Orleans Saints’ 39 line. Charlotte’s team then led 27-24, with two minutes to go.
Faced with a 4-and-19 situation, head coach Matt Rhule sent kicker Joey Slye for a record 65-yard field goal, except he came short of the goalposts. Rhule called his decision a “fatal mistake”.
“Playing on Thursday night lets you forget about a bitter loss that happened the week before,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. Getting back to work quickly, developing a game plan, chatting with coaches and participating in practice for Thursday night is beneficial. “
Or, as Bridgewater said, it allows you to “turn the page” on the last game and move on.
“This is the right thing to do,” hammered Bridgewater.
The Panthers defeated the Falcons 23-16 less than three weeks ago in Atlanta, and Bridgewater took the opportunity to amass 313 yards and throw two touchdowns. Running back Mike Davis also had 149 rushing yards.
The Falcons could have tied it late in the game, but cornerback Rasul Douglas managed an interception at Ryan’s expense in the net. The loss took the Falcons’ record to 0-5, and hours later they fired their head coach Dan Quinn before replacing him with Raheem Morris.
“We will face a team that feels like they let the victory slip away in our last game,” concluded Bridgewater.
