In their first strong test of the season, the Patriots defeated Matt Ryan and the Falcons in a close battle on Sunday Night Football to go 4-0. In what was billed a potential Super Bowl preview before the season, the Falcons limped to a 1-2 start. After receiving the opening kickoff The Falcons got on the scoreboard first with a long, 14-play 75-yard drive which chewed 5:37 off the clock. They drove all the way to the Patriots 5-yard line, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by kicker Matt Bryant. The Patriots responded later in the first quarter with a marathon drive of their own taking over 6 minutes off the clock, 12 plays and 76 yards later, third-string running back Brandon Bolden ran for a 3-yard touchdown, but the Falcons challenged and he didn't break the plane of the end zone, moving the ball back to the 1. Two plays later, Brady hit back-up tight end Matthew Mulligan for a 7-3 lead. On the following drive the Falcons put together another long, strong drive to the Patriots 15-yard line. On 3rd-and-10, Ryan found Jacquizz Rodgers on a screen pass for 8 yards, the Falcons kept the offense on the field, though, but on 4th-and-2 Ryan couldn't complete his pass intended for Roddy White and they turned it over on downs. The Patriots took over and marched to the Falcons 31, aided by a 49-yard completion from Brady to Thompkins, before Gostkowski booted a 48-yard field goal, extending the lead to 10-3. Right before half-time, Ryan and the Falcons stormed 80 yards in 8 plays eventually, scoring on Ryan's 21-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonz&#225;lez with 0:46 left in the half which tied the game at 10. After the first two drives of the second half ended in punts, the Patriots put together a 14 play, 89-yard drive, taking 6:15 off the clock, driving all the way to the Falcons 4, but were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal, giving them a 13-10 lead. This was the only score of the third quarter for either team. On the first play of the fourth quarter, on 3rd-and-19, Brady hit Thompkins for 26 yards with 15 added yards on a helmet-to-helmet hit by safety William Moore, moving the ball to the Falcons 47-yard line. On the very next play LeGarrette Blount burst through the middle and down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown run to cap off a 6 play, 63-yard drive, increasing the lead to 20-10. The Falcons responded on their next possession driving all the way to the Patriot 18, but on 3rd-and-5, Michael Buchanan sacked Ryan, and Bryant kicked a 45-yard field goal, trimming the score back to 7 at 20-13. It wouldn't last though. The Patriots responded by racing 80 yards in only 5 plays, aided by a 44-yard screen pass to Edelman, scoring on an incredible 18-yard touchdown catch by Thompkins for the largest lead of the night at 27-13. Ryan was intercepted by Talib on the first play of the ensuing drive and the Patriots cashed in with Gostkowski's 49-yard field goal with 6:18 remaining, seemingly putting the game out of reach with a 30-13 score. However, the Falcons didn't quit. Down three scores the Falcons stormed 80 yards in 7 plays, taking less than two minutes, with Ryan hitting Gonzalez on an 11-yard touchdown pass, trimming the deficit to 30-20 with only 4:22 remaining. The Falcons recovered the onside kick after it was fumbled by Sudfeld and drove to their own 7, but couldn't reach the end zone and Bryant kicked a 25-yard field goal making it a one possession deficit again at 30-23 with just 3:00 remaining. After an 8-yard run by Blount on 1st-down, Brady only gained a yards, and on 3rd-and-1 Blount seemingly stretched for a 1st down, but was ruled short, though replays showed he got the first down. After a timeout, the Patriots went for it on 4th-and-1, but Brady fumbled the snap for a turnover on downs. Starting from their own 38, Ryan connected with Julio Jones for a 49-yard bomb to the Patriots 13. After back-to-back incompletions, Ryan hit Jacquizz Rodgers for 3 yards to the 10, setting up a do-or-die 4th-and-7. Ryan threw the pass in White's direction, but the pass was broken up by Talib with just 0:41 seconds left. Two kneels by Brady sealed the deal and the Patriots were 4-0.. How many field goals shorter than 30 yards did Matt Bryant kick?