On Thursday night, the Atlanta Falcons were highly inefficient in the red zone, converting just one of five opportunities into a touchdown.
But hey, you already knew that about the club, after watching last year's offense routinely struggle to hit paydirt, when placed in reasonably point-blank scoring range.
In the season opener, the Falcons defense overcame heat exhaustion and numerous bouts with minor injury to limit the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles to only 232 yards of total offense.
But hey, you already knew that about this club, after watching last season's defense post above-average to elite-level rankings with scoring defense, rushing yards allowed and passing yards surrendered per game.
WEEK 1 GALLERY: Eagles 18, Falcons 12
The Falcons mustered only 18 run calls against the Eagles defense on Opening Night, despite being embroiled in a hotly contested opener for 60 minutes.
But hey, you already figured this kind of unbalance could be a distinct possibility, since Atlanta ran the ball just 20 times in its gut-wrenching playoff defeat to Philly, despite being in control of the scoreboard for most of that cold night in January.
Had enough of this droll repetition?
Well, apparently, the Falcons haven't.
How else to explain the club's major shortcomings in its 18-12 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field—a loss that was more troubling than traumatic, more exasperating than exciting?
The exciting reference covers Julio Jones' scintillating performance in the opener, churning out 10 catches, 19 targets and 169 yards against the Eagles, despite a bevy of double- and even triple-team coverage schemes; and these prime numbers don't even include a disputed catch in the third quarter ... which could have easily been overturned during Instant Replay.
THE GREATEST CATCH THAT NEVER WAS
On the play in question, Jones initially burned the Philly defense with a hard stop-and-go fly route down the right sideline. As his reward for the long-developing move, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan lofted a picture-perfect rainbow pass to his teammate—a well-placed ball that only had eyes for Jones 40 yards downfield.
But ay the rub: Jones' only option for corralling the ball, amid tight coverage, was attempting an over-the-shoulder reception—the toughest form of catching in all of sports.
Perhaps even more daunting than the one-hand snag ... made famous by current NFL receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.
Upon receipt of the ball, Jones initially had it in his grasp, but a subsequent slip of the hand paved the way for a steady bobble ... and this haunting trend continued as Julio hit the ground running at full speed.
The problem here, judgment-wise? Jones had been sliding inbounds, and untouched, for a few yards, allowing him to recover his bearings and seemingly secure firm control of the ball, prior to any shoulder reaching the sidelines.
If the officials had overruled the call, the Falcons (up 6-3 at the time) would have been in prime position for another score—a field goal at the very least.
Instead, the discounted pass ended up as mere conversation fodder for a drive that stalled at the Atlanta 26 ... leading into the play that changed everything for the Eagles.
PHILLY SPECIAL, THE SEQUEL
Two plays immediately stand out from the Eagles' upset of the vaunted Patriots in Super Bowl 52:
a) Zach Ertz's game-winning touchdown in the final minutes, even though the tight end lost control of the ball upon hitting the ground in the end zone.
b) During a tense situation earlier in the game, the Eagles coaches called for 'Philly Special,' a trick play which involved quarterback Nick Foles becoming the late-breaking receiver—after handing the ball off for an apparent end-around opportunity.
The play worked like a charm with Trey Burton connecting with a wide-open Foles in the end zone. In hindsight, it was the watershed moment of Philadelphia's first victory of the Lombardi Trophy era.
Fast forward to Thursday night ...
With the stingy Falcons defense seemingly in control of the wayward Eagles—allowing only three points and 100-plus total yards at the time—they got burned by the world-renowned 'Philly Special' attempt, with receiver Nelson Agholor fielding a lateral from behind the scrimmage and then flinging a short-range bullet to Foles ... who converted the 3rd-and-5 play into a 15-yard mojo-changer.
For those scoring at home, it was the same play from last season's Super Bowl in Minneapolis. The only subtle changes: The original handoffs were a little deeper in the backfield, and Foles ran a deeper route.
Other than that, it was a carbon copy of a 'Philly Special' play that has been conservatively viewed by 80 million people in the last eight months!
Sensing a theme here ... with near-carbon-copy plays?
Five plays later, Eagles running back Jay Ajayi would rumble in for a 1-yard touchdown—the first of his two scores on the night.
Remember how the Falcons were routinely taken aback by all the 'Run-Pass Option' plays in the playoff loss? Well, by all accounts, the Atlanta coaching staff did an excellent job of closing that loophole before Thursday's opener—a commendable adjustment which should serve this group well for the season ahead.
And yet, this underrated production understandably gets lost in the haze of surrendering a crucial first down ... on a cutesy (but effective) call that had all the sophistication and grandeur of schoolkids drawing something up in the dirt, while convening for an impromptu huddle.
In many respects, it's a soul-crushing way to accept defeat in the professional ranks.
If Philadelphia had simply been more physical, more talented and more prepared on this night, it's something the Atlanta players, coaches and fans could eventually reconcile, as they work through the process of preparing for another game in 10 days.
But hey, Atlantans already know the sinking feeling of controlling Philly on its own home turf, only to leave the field in abject misery.
Unfortunately, for this team, it's deja vu all over again.
