Tonight at 8:30 p.m. the Atlanta Falcons (1-2) host the New England Patriots (3-0) in a near-must win for the Dirty Birds if they hope to keep pace with the red-hot New Orleans Saints. Watch the game on NBC, or live stream it for free by clicking this link. Falcons fans can listen to the game on Star 94, while Patriots fans can hear the radio broadcast on 98.5 The Hub.
Despite a 3-0 start, many believe New England's shaky play has rendered their record a fluke. Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork thinks otherwise, though. I feel good. 3-0. You can't ask for anything better," Wilfork said. "We know our offense, sooner or later, they're going to start clicking."
New England's offense has been hampered by poor chemsistry between Tom Brady and his young wide receivers, but Brady has placed much of the blame for the slow start on his own shoudlers.
"I think throwing an interception right to a strong safety last week doesn't help, especially (when) two plays before I had a wide-open guy," Brady said. "I think plays like that are more the problem. I have to do a good job finding the open guys, guys that are running free and then hit them. That will help our red-zone offense more than anything."
The Falcons believe their offensive talent is still top-notch, but their execution has been lacking.
"We did not play very good situational football. We're talking about red zone, two minute and third downs," head coach Mike Smith said. "We gave up 10 points in two-minute situations -- a field goal at the end of the half, and seven points at the end of the game."
Wide receiver Roddy White, who has been severely limited by a sprained ankle believes the team is capable of far more than they've show.
"We've got to do a lot more on offense," White said. "In the red zone, score touchdowns not kick field goals, and we'll be fine. We've got to find a way to find the end zone."
Patriots Injury Report:
| Leon Washington | RB | Thigh | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Danny Amendola | WR | Groin | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Jerod Mayo | LB | Ankle | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Matt Slater | WR | Wrist | Did Not Participate In Practice | Out |
| Kyle Arrington | CB | Groin | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Sebastian Vollmer | T | Foot | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Marquice Cole | CB | -- | Limited Participation in Practice | -- |
| Brandon Bolden | RB | Knee | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Vince Wilfork | DT | Foot | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Will Svitek | T | Knee | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Nate Ebner | S | Ankle | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Rob Gronkowski | TE | Back | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Zach Sudfeld | TE | Hamstring | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
Falcons Injury Report:
| Steven Jackson | RB | Hamstring | Did Not Participate In Practice | Out |
| Robert McClain | CB | Knee | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Julio Jones | WR | Knee | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Garrett Reynolds | G | Knee | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Josh Vaughan | RB | Ankle | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Peter Konz | C | Knee | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Roddy White | WR | Ankle | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Asante Samuel | CB | Thigh | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Sam Baker | T | Foot | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
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