LAS VEGAS — Bijan Robinson led the way on the ground and the Atlanta Falcons got big-time special teams play from KhaDarel Hodge in an ugly 15-9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night.
Robinson had 125 yards on 22 carries. His work on the ground made up for the continued struggles of quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was 11-of-17 for 112 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception. Cousins found wide receiver Drake London for a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Hodge had a blocked punt and another tipped punt, which helped the Falcons win field position, which was sorely needed in a game that seemed like a throwback from yesteryear. Edge rusher DeAngelo Malone had two sacks, safety Justin Simmons had an interception and the Falcons earned their first safety of the season.
The Falcons (7-7) snapped their four-game losing streak and are back to .500. With seven wins, they’ve tied their win total of the past three seasons with three games left to play. Atlanta is still in playoff contention.
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that during that skid, the Falcons went from running away with the NFC South — at 6-3 with a 4-0 division record — to having it almost slip away. And nothing about a low-scoring victory against the woeful Raiders will make fans confident about how this team will fare the rest of the way, especially considering the team above them in the standings is the red-hot Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The biggest question moving forward remains Cousins. He has nine interceptions in the past five games against just one touchdown pass. The Falcons limited him as much as they could in their offensive game plan Monday night, but that’s not a long-term — or even short-term — solution. It’s not what Atlanta spent $180 million over four years for in the offseason.
Two words: Specialists’ dream. The Falcons got a blocked punt and a tipped punt from Hodge, Kevin King blocked an extra point and punter Bradley Pinion pinned the Raiders inside the 10-yard line four times, including twice inside the 5 in a low-scoring, field-position battle.
Troubling trend: It seemed like the Falcons’ strategy was to limit Cousins’ pass attempts as much as possible. He didn’t throw a pass on any first down in the first half, the first time that has happened in his career. That might have worked against the Raiders, but it’s not a solution to Cousins’ issues.
Pivotal play: Cousins found London for a 30-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter that was basically all the Falcons needed. It was the longest touchdown catch of London’s career. He now has five straight prime-time games with a touchdown reception, tied for the longest streak in 10 years. — Marc Raimondi
Next game: vs. New York Giants (1 p.m. ET, Fox, Sunday)
In dropping their 10th straight game — their longest in-season losing streak since opening the 2014 season 0-10 — the Raiders stayed on pace for a top-two draft pick.
Falling to the Falcons tied Las Vegas’ record with the Giants for the worst in the NFL. The Raiders play the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-11) on Sunday in a No. 1-pick elimination game, of sorts.
Already decimated by injuries — the Raiders were missing their two top QBs as well as Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby — Las Vegas also lost new starting running back Sincere McCormick to an ankle injury in the second quarter.
Most surprising performance: Three sacks by a defensive front missing Crosby. Undrafted rookie defensive tackle Jonah Laulu got his first career sack, while fellow DT Adam Butler got sack No. 3.5 of the season and defensive end Tyree Wilson, last year’s first-round pick, got his fourth of 2024.
Prediction for next week: An ultraconservative offensive game plan showed little to no trust in third-string quarterback Desmond Ridder, who joined the team Oct. 22. So why not throw undrafted rookie QB Carter Bradley, who has been in Las Vegas since April, out there against the Jaguars, just to see what he has? Especially if Aidan O’Connell‘s bone bruise on his left knee keeps him out again.
QB breakdown: At one point late in the second quarter, Ridder had almost as many rushing yards as passing yards. He finished with 208 passing yards in completing 23-of-29 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was 0-of-6 with an interception on throws of at least 15 yards downfield midway through the fourth quarter, per ESPN Research.
Pivotal play: It’s a tie between running back Alexander Mattison fumbling on his first carry since Nov. 17 on Las Vegas’ initial possession and running back Ameer Abdullah calling for a fair catch on a punt inside the Raiders’ 5-yard line. Mattison’s turnover did not result in an immediate score by Atlanta in a then-scoreless game, but it did set a tone. And two snaps after Abdullah’s fair catch, Mattison was dropped in the end zone for a safety that gave the Falcons a 9-3 lead. — Paul Gutierrez
Next game: vs. Jaguars (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS, Sunday)
