The Tilt
Atlanta's Best In-Season Trade Ever Gained One Hundred and One Yards
ESPN says the Falcons have never acquired an impact player in the middle of a season, then named a receiver who gained more yards in five games for the club that traded him than in twelve for the club that bought him. I argued the same inactivity was defensible six days ago, which means I owe you the difference between can't and shouldn't.
The Same Return Date Means Ruled Out in Atlanta and On Bye in Tennessee
Atlanta go to Madrid having lost their second-leading sack producer to a coach's ruling and having regained an edge rusher from an eight-game suspension in the same week. The injury board everyone will read as a forecast is, for five of its eight rows, indistinguishable from the schedule.
The Team Atlanta Hosts in Madrid Is 5-2 and Scoring 29.4 a Game
Cincinnati arrive at 5-2, on three straight wins, averaging 29.4 points a game. Atlanta's season ticket membership covers eight dates at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and this is the ninth home game on the schedule.
Falcons Haiku of the Day
Nobody practiced.
Eight men still got a level.
That is the report.
— Miles Grady · Falcons
The Line Allowed No Sacks and No Hits. Atlanta Scored Nothing.
Tampa Bay did not sack Michael Penix Jr. once, did not register a single quarterback hit, and got behind the line of scrimmage twice in 52 plays. Atlanta still produced 3.5 yards a carry, nothing on third down and no points.
Tampa Bay Completed Zero Passes and Scored Sixteen Points
Baker Mayfield threw three times, completed none of them, and never had to do anything else. Atlanta reached Tampa Bay territory on five separate drives and came away with nothing from any of them.
Anterio Thompson Was on the Non-Football Injury List, and We Left It There
On Thursday, Anterio Thompson wrote on Instagram that he had been told he would never play football again. Tilt had printed his name in six pieces since April, once right next to the list that accounted for his absence, and had never once asked what put him on it.
Carolina Lead The NFC South On One September Afternoon
Carolina and Atlanta are both 3-4, and the only thing separating them is a Sunday afternoon in September when Atlanta scored three points. Of the two teams playing in Tampa, only one can take the division lead by winning, and it is not the home team.
Atlanta Allow Penix Little Contact. Most Of It Becomes A Sack.
Two honest measures of the same matchup point opposite ways: on sacks-or-hits Atlanta have the third-lowest rate allowed in football, and on the sack rate the NFL publishes they are below average. The gap between them is a quarterback, not only a tackle room.
Tilted Metrics
Falcons
Bijan Robinson
TILT ATL
0 TD IN 4
Robinson has not reached the end zone in four straight games; all four of his rushing scores came in the Week 3 and Week 4 road wins.
Weeks 5-8, Oct 12 - Nov 1
Falcons
Points Allowed
TILT ATL
36 IN 2
Atlanta's stingiest two-game stretch of the season still produced only one win, because the second of the two was a 16-0 shutout loss.
Week 7 vs San Francisco, Week 8 at Tampa Bay
Falcons
Madrid Matchup
TILT ATL
+48 VS -18
Cincinnati has outscored opponents by 48 points in seven games; Atlanta has been outscored by 18 in eight.
Before Week 9, Sunday Nov 8, Santiago Bernabeu
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