Passage: Looking to avoid back-to-back losses, the Patriots returned home to face the Atlanta Falcons, missing Welker for the second straight game. The Falcons moved the ball 72 yards on their 12-play opening drive, but settled for a 26-yard Jason Elam field goal after being stopped on 3rd-and-3 from the 8-yard line. The Patriots responded with a 15-play drive of their own, beginning with a 19-yard dump-off pass to Morris. No other play on the drive would go for more than 9 yards, and the Patriots themselves were stopped short of a touchdown, with wide receiver Joey Galloway catching a pass with his foot out of bounds in the back of the end zone on what would have been a 7-yard touchdown pass. Instead, the Patriots could not reach further than the Falcons' 2-yard line and settled for a 21-yard Gostkowski field goal to tie the game. The Falcons next drive was a three-and-out that began the second quarter, with a 29-yard Michael Koenen punt and a 5-yard penalty on the Falcons giving the Patriots the ball at their own 49-yard line. After two pass attempts, Taylor had runs of 8, 19, 6, and 8 yards, with the final rush good for a touchdown and a 10-7 Patriots lead. Beginning their next drive from their own 41-yard line after a 33-yard return by Eric Weems, the Falcons moved into Patriots territory on one play before an apparent strip-sack of second-quarter quarterback Matt Ryan by safety Brandon McGowan; the Falcons challenged the ruling (which included a touchdown return by cornerback Shawn Springs) and won, as Ryan's arm was going forward when he lost the ball. Another Jenkins reception, this one for 21 yards, moved the Falcons deeper into Patriots territory before running back Michael Turner ran for a 2-yard touchdown that tied the game. Following a Patriots three-and-out, the Falcons again moved into Patriots territory, but a Turner fumble at the Patriots' 27-yard line, forced by McGowan, was recovered by safety James Sanders with just under four minutes remaining in the half. The Patriots' 12-play drive brought them into the red zone, but a dropped pass by Galloway just outside the end zone and an incompletion to wide receiver Sam Aiken in the end zone forced a 33-yard Gostkowski field goal that gave the Patriots a 13-10 lead going into halftime. The Patriots began where they left off at the start of the second half, embarking on a 13-play drive that entered into the red zone on a 23-yard Watson catch. However, the Patriots' offense stalled in the red zone again, with two incomplete passes to Moss setting up a 22-yard Gostkowski field goal. Ryan and Jenkins continued to connect on the Falcons' ensuing drive; a 26-yard reception put the Falcons in Patriots territory and then a 36-yard touchdown pass was nullified on a pass interference penalty on Jenkins. With a subsequent false start penalty, the Falcons were pushed back into Patriots' territory and eventually forced to punt. The Patriots next drive spanned 70 yards on 16 plays and was kept alive on a 4th-and-1 conversion from the Patriots own 24-yard line. Again, it did not involve a touchdown though, as Gostkowski kicked a 33-yard field goal to extend the Patriots' lead to 19-10 early in the fourth quarter. After an exchange of three punts, the Patriots began a 6-play drive that resulted in their first passing touchdown of the day, a 36-yard reception by tight end Chris Baker that extended the Patriots lead to 26-10; it was also Brady's 200th career touchdown pass. After a Falcons three-and-out, the Patriots held the ball for the final 6:52 of the game to seal a 26-10 victory.
Output: What team won in the end?