Typical Falcons: Todd Gurley’s huge mistake costs Atlanta win against Lions
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The Atlanta Falcons can’t even run the clock out correctly.
With Atlanta holding the ball at the Detroit Lions 10-yard-line and trailing the Lions 16-14 with about 1 minute left, all it needed to do is bleed the clock far enough to set up kicker Younghoe Koo for a game-winning field goal.
Todd Gurley, though, took Matt Ryan’s handoff and scored a touchdown to give the Falcons a 22-16 lead after a successful 2-point try. It appeared that Gurley tried to prevent himself from crossing the goal line, but it was too late as the ball broke the plane with the former Georgia star cradling it in his left arm.
Todd Gurley really scored a touchdown on accident https://t.co/mJGlomdhDU
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 25, 2020
The remaining time was all another Bulldogs great needed to lead his team to a dramatic win.
With 1:04 remaining on the game clock, Matthew Stafford led an 8-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a catch by Kenny Golladay that was upheld after video review, followed by a game-winning 11-yard touchdown catch by T.J. Hockenson to tie it up with 0 seconds remaining. Matt Prater then hit the resulting extra point to give the Lions a stirring 23-22 win.
In a season full of unthinkable losses for the Falcons — who are now 1-6 — this may hurt as badly as any of them.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
