Thursday Night Football top plays: New England Patriots shut out Atlanta Falcons
Thursday night's game between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons did not live up to the excitement of Super Bowl LI — when these teams met for a championship — but it was an impressive display nonetheless.
That's due to the New England defense, which dominated the Falcons in their own stadium on the way to a 25-0 victory.
The Patriots picked off Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan twice and allowed him to complete only 19 of 28 passes for 153 yards. They also intercepted backups QBs Josh Rosen and Feleipe Franks once each after Ryan was pulled late in the contest.
It was the fifth straight win for the Patriots, who improved to 7-4 and pulled within percentage points of the Buffalo Bills (6-3) for the AFC East lead. The Falcons, meanwhile, dropped to 4-6, last in the NFC South.
Here are the top plays from Thursday's matchup:
New England Patriots 25, Atlanta Falcons 0
It was a star-studded event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium!
FIRST QUARTER
After getting off to a slow start, the Patriots were first on the board, going up 3-0 midway through the frame.
On the ensuing drive, Matt Ryan dropped this ball perfectly over the New England defender to Mike Davis as the Falcons moved downfield.
SECOND QUARTER
The Patriots jumped out to a 10-0 lead when Jones found a wide-open Nelson Agholor for a 19-yard touchdown to start the second frame.
Atlanta appeared to get on the board after Younghoe Koo's 45-yard field goal attempt was good. But an illegal formation penalty took away the points, and Koo missed from 50 yards out on the following try.
The Falcons didn't have any answers for a Patriots defense that forced Atlanta to punt from inside its own end zone and which allowed zero points in the first half.
Heading into the break, the Patriots led 13-0.
THIRD QUARTER
Misfortune struck New England in the second half when Jones' was picked off on Atlanta's 13-yard line.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Falcons continued to struggle, as Ryan was picked off once again, this time on a deep pass intended for rookie Kyle Pitts.
That led to another field goal for the Patriots as they pushed their lead to 16-0. Our cameras caught the perfect view.
The Pats another field goal late, then followed it with a touchdown, when Kyle Van Noy picked off Rosen and returned it for a touchdown.
