Atlanta Falcons: Top highlights from Week 1 victory vs Bears

The Atlanta Falcons came away with a road victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon. Take a look at the best highlights from the game.

The Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears gave us a great, but surprising game in the first weekend of 2017 NFL action. Heading into the weekend, the Dirty Birds were a 6.5 point favorite over the Bears, but Chicago fought the entire game, nearly coming away with their first victory of the 2017 season.

Instead, Atlanta’s defense found a way to make huge stop at the end of the game, forcing a turnover-of-downs and sealing the victory for Dan Quinn’s Falcons.

Even tough the game didn’t turn into the Falcons’ offensive score-fest that we all hoped for, there were still some awesome highlights from the team’s 23-17 victory on Sunday.

The first Falcons touchdown of the 2017 regular season came on a stretch-run from running back Devonta Freeman. While the former Florida State Seminoles player didn’t have a great game, that touchdown was a huge confidence boost for an Atlanta offense that was struggling to put the ball in the end-zone.

Leave it to Keanu Neal to be the guy to earn the Falcons’ best hit of the weekend. Not to mention, his big-time tackle was on Bears rookie running back Tarik Cohen, who Atlanta couldn’t figure out how to stop all weekend long.

Cohen finished his first NFL game with five carries for 66 rushing yards and eight receptions 47 yards and a score. Needless to say, Neal’s hit was the best tackle a Falcons defender had on Cohen all game.

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been this excited about a Falcons’ offensive play since Tevin Coleman’s third quarter touchdown in Super Bowl 51.

In my humble opinion, there are two great parts about this 88-yard touchdown from Austin Hooper. The first, is Matt Ryan’s ability to keep his feet under him in the pocket. Not only did he maneuver around the Bears’ defensive lineman, but he took one heck of a shot at the end as well.

Secondly, Austin Hooper delivered a deadly stiff-arm to Bears’ defensive-back Quintin Demps in the open field. It was the team’s best offensive play of the game and the difference between Atlanta winning or losing.

After an afternoon of struggling to finish the game, the Falcons secondary did a fantastic job of smothering every Chicago receiver that sat down at the goal-line, which forced Mike Glennon to try and escape the collapsing pocket. Honestly, I have no clue what the Bears were attempting to do on this play, but Brooks Reed decided to end the game once and for all.

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Reed did a great job of getting off of the line of scrimmage and beating his man to the quarterback. Not only did that seal the game for Atlanta, but it saved plenty of Falcons fans from calling into work on Monday morning.

At the end of the day, this wasn’t the prettiest win the Falcons have ever had, but they found a way to win. At this point in the season, winning games is the only thing that matters.