Falcons vs. Ravens: Hat tips & head-scratchers

London lost another football.

The Falcons have officially been eliminated from postseason contention, which could be a small mercy considering how poorly this team has played during its current losing streak.

Here’s Hat tips & head-scratchers from the loss to the Ravens.

Hat tips

Ade Ogundeji blocks the field goal try

With the Ravens already up by three and driving once more, Ade Ogundeji made one of the best special teams plays of the year, leaping above the pile and getting his paws on kicker Justin Tucker’s field goal attempt.

With the Falcons sputtering offensively early on, this was a momentum swing that Atlanta sorely needed. Ogundeji earned himself a head-scratcher for his special teams penalty against the Commanders, but he showed his value to the unit on this play. Tip o’ the cap, sir.

Rookie chemistry

Save for yet another costly fumble, the connection between rookies Desmond Ridder and Drake London was on point on Sunday. The pair linked up for 96 yards, and the throw-and-catch in the fourth quarter put an exclamation point on a nice day for both. London, flanked by two defenders, climbed the ladder to reel in a perfectly placed ball by Ridder — his best as a professional so far.

Drake London has to get a handle on the butterfingers, but the offensive chemistry between these two is promising moving forward.

Head-scratchers

London loses it

This is now officially become concerning. For the second time in as many weeks, rookie receiver Drake London lost yet another fumble after a fourth-down conversion. In similar fashion to the occurrence against the Saints, quarterback Desmond Ridder completed the pass to convert, only to have London lose the handle while fighting for yards after the catch.

It was Drake London’s third fumble of the season, which is more than his three years playing at USC.

The good news is that this is absolutely fixable in practice, the bad news is has contributed to two Atlanta Falcons losses.

Officiating

Officiating was abysmal in this one. The referees straight up blew the intentional grounding call prior to the half, when it was clear to everyone that quarterback Desmond Ridder was hit during the play. This put Arthur Smith into sideline meltdown mode, which was later compounded by the offensive holding call on Olamide Zaccheaus when the defender flopped.

The Falcons don’t need any assistance in screwing up football games, but the referees were happy to provide it in the loss to the Ravens.