Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons did enough through three-and-a-half quarters that even the best comeback attempt by Russell Wilson fell short this time.
A couple of yards short to be exact.
Ryan on Monday threw a pair of touchdown passes and Adrian Clayborn returned a fumble 10 yards for a score before the Falcons watched Blair Walsh’s 52-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds fall short, holding off the Seattle Seahawks for a 34-31 win.
Photo: Steven Bisig-USA Today
Atlanta won their second straight to stay on the heels of New Orleans and Carolina in the National Football Conference South and handed Seattle a second consecutive home loss.
“What an absolute team win from the guys tonight,” Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said. “Coming here, in this environment, with the crowd, we thought it would be two competitive, tough teams that were going to battle for it in the biggest way.”
Ryan threw touchdowns to Mohamed Sanu and Levine Toilolo, while Tevin Coleman added a one-yard touchdown run on Atlanta’s opening possession, but it was Clayborn’s fumble return that helped break the game open early in the second quarter and gave Atlanta a 21-7 lead.
He scooped up a loose ball after Wilson was crunched by Takk McKinley and Courtney Upshaw.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction. We keep proving we can finish games and beat guys. We have to take the momentum and keep rolling with it,” Clayborn said.
With Seattle down 11 points, Wilson hit Doug Baldwin on a 29-yard touchdown with 3 minutes left and then threw to Jimmy Graham for the two-point conversion.
Seattle got the ball back and moved in range for Walsh, whose attempt was on line, but landed short of the crossbar.
“That was in our range and in hindsight I would have just driven it more,” Walsh said. “I would have driven it more and not left it short. I was too accurate and didn’t have enough on it.”
Wilson again was the entirety of Seattle’s offense, throwing for 258 yards and two touchdowns, while running for another 86 yards and a touchdown, but it was an awful night for the Seahawks, filled with more injuries and questionable decisions by coach Pete Carroll.
Seattle played a game without Richard Sherman for the first time since the end of 2010. His streak of 99 consecutive starts was snapped because of a torn Achilles tendon.”
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS