Falcons hand Giants fourth consecutive loss

Send a link to a friend  Share

[October 23, 2018]  Matt Ryan threw for 379 yards, and fill-in kicker Giorgio Tavecchio connected from 56 yards late for his third field goal as the host Atlanta Falcons extended the New York Giants' losing streak to four games with a 23-20 victory Monday night.

Ryan, who completed his last 18 passes to finish 31 of 39, connected with Marvin Hall for a 47-yard touchdown. Tevin Coleman had a 30-yard TD run, and Tavecchio made field goals of 40 and 50 yards in addition to his 56-yarder with 1:55 remaining.

Odell Beckham Jr. caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning with five seconds left, and Saquon Barkley ran for the two-point conversion, but it was too little too late as the Falcons (3-4) stretched their home winning streak against the NFC East to eight games.

Manning completed 27 of 38 for 399 yards, with Beckham catching eight for 143 yards for the Giants (1-6).



New York's Sterling Shepard had five receptions for 167 yards. Atlanta's Julio Jones made nine grabs for 104 yards.

Barkley, who finished with 43 yards rushing and 51 receiving, scored on a 2-yard run with 4:47 left. That left the Giants down by eight points, and they surprisingly went for two points. Manning's pass to Beckham was incomplete.

Coleman's TD run came with just under eight minutes to go after Tavecchio started the final quarter with his 50-yarder.

The Falcons led 10-3 at intermission, with all the scoring coming within the final five minutes of a first half that featured seven sacks and punts on the first three possession by both teams.

[to top of second column]

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws a pass against the New York Giants in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Hall caught a bomb from Ryan to cap a three-play, 86-yard scoring drive. A 38-yard pass interference penalty set up the 40-yard field goal by Tavecchio with three seconds left after Aldrick Rosas had connected on a 31-yard field goal for the Giants with 50 seconds on the clock.

Tavecchio, who kicked for Oakland last season, was signed by the Falcons after Matt Bryant strained his right hamstring on a 57-yard field goal against Tampa Bay late in the fourth quarter last week.

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett had two of the Falcons' four sacks of Manning after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury.

Manning connected with Shepard for 53 yards and Beckham for 52 yards in the third quarter, but New York got just a 36-yard field goal by Rosas out of the two trips inside the red zone. The other drive ended on an incomplete pass from the 1-yard line on fourth down.

--Field Level Media

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

Back to top