Looking at the stats, things seem as though they should have gone better for the Atlanta Falcons. Matt Ryan had 450 yards and two scored and Todd Gurley ran in a touchdown in his debut with the Dirty Birds.
Still, they lost 38-25, and this is now their fourth-straight opening day loss. And as Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitutional points out, it simply comes down to them not doing enough.
"“There was no compelling reason the Falcons lost 38-25 to Seattle on Sunday. They weren’t outmanned. They made only one turnover until the game’s final seconds. They outgained the Seahawks by 123 yards, though a goodly chunk of that came after they’d fallen 19 points behind. (Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards, the second-best total of his distinguished career.) The trouble with these Falcons — and this, we stipulate, won’t come as news to longtime observers — is that they’ve forgotten how to make difference-making plays.” — Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitutional"
Atlanta always seems to have a good offense but as Bradley points out, they don’t get it done when needed. That’s been a problem for years now for head coach Dan Quinn and it was a bit of a surprise that he was kept on after last year.
It’s a long season and they can get back into it but they play in a tough division and need to get better.