On Sunday afternoon, two of the NFL's undefeated teams met as the Detroit Lions hosted the Atlanta Falcons. The game featured the Super Bowl runner-ups taking a lead into the half, but Matthew Stafford and Detroit staged a second-half comeback. Unfortunately for the Lions, that comeback fell short as they lost 30-26 on a controversial reversed call. Here's the Falcons vs. Lions recap including top players, game stats, a standings update, and what's next on the schedule for the teams.
NFL game recap
In today's win for the Atlanta Falcons, quarterback Matt Ryan threw three interceptions but he also tossed for 294 yards and two touchdowns on a 24-for-35 passing day.
Julio Jones had seven receptions for 91 yards while Taylor Gabriel had 79 yards and a touchdown catch. On the ground, Devonta Freeman ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on his 21 carries. The Falcons led 20-13 at the half taking early control of things.
HE GONE. 💨💨💨
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 25, 2017
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However, the Lions battled back and tied the game up at 23-23 in the third quarter. Matthew Stafford also had a decent game for the Detroit Lions but came up on the losing end of things. Stafford completed 25-of-45 passes and had 264 yards with a touchdown. Golden Tate was the recipient of that touchdown pass and finished with 58 yards.
Unfortunately, the Lions had a late call reversed that looked like it was a game-winning touchdown. Stafford threw a pass to Golden Tate in the final seconds, but it was ruled short of the goal line meaning the Falcons held on for the 30-26 win.
For the game, the Falcons racked up 428 yards of total offense compared to 324 yards for the Lions.
This was despite having three turnovers in the game from Ryan's three interceptions. Still, the Falcons made the most of their time holding onto the ball which was over 32 minutes compared to 27 for the home team.
Standings & what's next
The Atlanta Falcons move to 3-0 for the season with a 2-0 away record. They currently lead the NFC South as the only undefeated team in the division due to Carolina's loss on Sunday.
Next up, Atlanta takes on the Buffalo Bills at home with a 1 p.m. ET start time for next Sunday.
With the loss, the Detroit Lions are now 2-1 for their season. They have also fallen to a 1-1 record at their home field. The Green Bay Packers have the division with a 2-1 record. Next on the schedule for Detroit is an away game against division rivals Minnesota with the start time set for 1 p.m. ET next Sunday.