NW Atlanta News

The Atlanta Falcons are experiencing a season filled with tightly contested games. Each of their four matches in 2024 has been decided by a single possession, leaving no room for comfort. "Welcome to the National Football League," said Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. "I've been in the league since 2002, and I feel like they all end the same way or around the same way."

In Week 1, the Falcons lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18-10 scoreline, sealed by a late field goal from Chris Boswell. The following week saw them narrowly defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 22-21, after a last-minute touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Drake London.

Week 3 was another close call as Atlanta fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, losing 22-17 despite Younghoe Koo's long-range field goal early in the fourth quarter. The closest match came in Week 4 when Koo's impressive 58-yard field goal secured a victory against the New Orleans Saints at 26-24.

Morris praised his team's resilience: "It's about having that mental stamina enough to go out and push and pursue and get your guys to go out and finish... They fight every single week, and I'm proud of them."

With a current record of two wins and two losses, these tight finishes highlight how different Atlanta’s standing could be if just a few plays had gone differently.

The Falcons aren't alone in this trend; three other teams have also experienced four one-score games this season—the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts share Atlanta's record while the Chiefs remain unbeaten at 4-0.

Interestingly, among these teams' games only two victories came via game-winning field goals—Koo's against New Orleans and Harrison Butker’s kick for Kansas City against Cincinnati Bengals.

Across the NFL this season, there have been five game-winning field goals made with ten seconds or less remaining:

1. Sept. 29: ATL vs NOR (Younghoe Koo)

2. Sept. 22: LAR vs SFO (Joshua Karty)

3. Sept.15: WAS vs NYG (Austin Seibert)

4. Sept.15: KAN vs CIN (Harrison Butker)

5. Sept .8: MIA vs JAX (Jason Sanders)

So far, fourteen games were determined by three points or fewer while thirty-nine ended within an eight-point margin—emphasizing how rare blowouts are becoming in today’s NFL landscape except for Carolina Panthers who mostly faced decisive defeats except one big win.

Morris summed it up succinctly stating that football is truly "the game of three points" reflecting on its competitive nature where outcomes often hang precariously on small margins rather than clear-cut victories.

"This is still Al Pacino—the game of inches—but it is so true... Very rarely do you see blowouts," he remarked noting most contests conclude similarly close across weeks underscoring inherent unpredictability within professional football today .