Falcons destroy Texans, 48-21, at Georgia Dome

Devonta Freeman and the Atlanta Falcons dominated this one right from the start. It’s already been a insane season, but that’s the exact situation we find ourselves in heading into the second quarter. They steamrolled over the Houston Texans to begin the season 4-0 for the fourth time in their history. Let’s break it down. That would be all in Atlanta, as the Falcons came away with the big 48-21 win.

The 4-0 Atlanta Falcons are set to host the Washington Redskins next Sunday at 1:00 PM.

Aaron Rodgers passed for 224 yards and a touchdown, ran 17 yards to set up a key second-half score, and the Packers are off to their first 4-0 start in four years.

Freeman rushed for 68 yards on 14 carries and hauled in five passes for 81 yards. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux started the rally with an interception of a tipped pass. Ra’Shede Hageman has his first sack of the season and the Falcons had four quarterback hits from Kroy Biermann, Hageman, Vic Beasley and Paul Soliai. Foster had eight carries and made three catches for 25 yards and Foster was the starting running back with Alfred Blue as his backup. They were limited to exactly 300 total yards by the Carolina Panthers, but the Atlanta Falcons aren’t playing as well against the pass as their NFC South partners.

“Life goes on, and we still have games to play”, Foster said. The Texans are only putting up 18.7 points per game this season, but the defense is only giving up 20 points and 341.7 yards per game. Houston’s talented front seven created a lot of pressure, and Ryan, who stood tall in the pocket and scrambled when necessary, did a great job firing quick throws to steadily move the ball downfield. Hoyer managed to put up decent garbage time numbers (15 of 27 for 226 yards and two touchdowns) when the game was completely out of reach, likely reigniting the quarterback controversy.

Newton tossed scoring passes of 6 and 12 yards to Ted Ginn Jr. When the Texans get close enough to the end zone they also have brought Watt put to be a tight end which they tried out a year ago and it worked successfully as he caught three touchdown passes on offense.

Ryan Mallett remains the Texans’ starting quarterback.

Cecil Shorts got Houston its third touchdown of the day.

Cousins finished 31 for 46 for 290 yards and no turnovers.

Houston Texans kicker Nick Novak reacts to missing a field goal against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, October 4, 2015, in Atlanta.

An improved Ryan Mallett got Houston its first win on Sunday over the Buccaneers, but it wasn’t the most pretty effort.

Linebackers, A-plus: Justin Durant, who entered the game as the team’s leading tackler with 27, left with an elbow strain.

“We clearly got punched in the mouth and we were looking to respond”, said Dan Quinn, who joined Jim Mora (2004) as the only Atlanta coaches to start their careers with three straight wins. Cornerback Desmond Trufant scooped up the ball and scored on a 24-yard return.