Atlanta Falcons Must Learn From Mistakes To Win Home Opener Vs. Cardinals

Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense was stifled by Pittsburgh in their 15-9 overtime loss to open the 2010 season Sunday afternoon.

The Falcons mustered just 58 yards rushing and less that 300 total yards, failed to reach the end zone, and had just two drives longer than 50 yards, both of which ended with Matt Bryant field goals.

Missed opportunities and mistakes have many Falcons thinking they gave one away in the season opener.

“We have to put it behind us,” cornerback Chris Owens said Monday, “Learn from the mistakes. It’s a different week, different opponent, so let’s put that behind us.”

“We definitely should have won, that’s how we feel. It’s heartbreaking, and we fought a good fight, but we didn’t make enough plays down the road. They did, and give them credit for that. But like I said, we all feel like we should have won that game, and that’s going to make us even more hungry for the next game.”

Owens’ defense kept substitute quarterback Dennis Dixon in check for most of the day, sacking him three times and intercepting him once. Running back Rashard Mendenhall was on his way to a pedestrian day, recording 70 yards on 21 carries before breaking the 50-yard game-winner in overtime, the game’s first touchdown.

The Falcons running attack struggled, as Michael Turner tallied just 42 yards on 19 carries.

Though Roddy White caught 13 balls for 111 yards, the Falcons failed to sustain any offensive momentum against a stingy Steeler defense.

“It’s a 16-game season” head coach Mike Smith told Jay Adams of the team’s official website. “Half the teams got what they wanted yesterday, half the teams didn’t. We need to make sure that we understand that this is a 16-game season and that there are some good things that took place in that ball game, but we also know that we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to do that we can correct.”

The Falcons look to make those corrections in their home opener against the Cardinals Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT.

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