With apologies to zombie Charles Dickens, it was the best of games, it was the worst of games.

The first half was a tale of woe and incompetence. The Falcons' offensive was so inept that I was tackled in my living room by a Panthers linebacker, and I live in New Hampshire. Michael Turner couldn't get going and Matt Ryan was plagued by defenders all throughout, and the defense seemed incapable of stopping Cam Newton. When the clock hit zero in the second quarter, Falcons fans collectively gave up hope and I was ready to declare it the worst half of football I had seen in 2011.

There was little in the Falcons' performance up to this point that suggested they could or would win the game. The offense had simply been too inept, the defense too prone to big mistakes, the coaching staff unable or unwilling to make the kinds of adjustments that allow a team to engineer a 17 point comeback. The only point in their favor—the only one--is that this Falcons football team never seems to roll over.

Then the second half happened. For the first time all year, the coaching staff fired up the team and came out ready to make bold moves. Whether it was the long hit to Jacquizz Rodgers for a touchdown, the two bombs that found Julio Jones for touchdowns or the way the defense swarmed the edges against Newton, suddenly the Falcons looked like a damn good football team again.

Incredibly, they erased a 16 point deficit and held the Panthers scoreless in the second half. Think about how difficult it is to hold down Cam Newton and the rest of that dynamic offense for an entire half. Think about how tough it is to score 24 points in a half on an NFL team, especially for this offense. It was arguably the best half of the entire year.

I have real concerns about this team's ability to make a playoff run this season, and one excellent half can't save the coaching staff from legitimate criticism about their methods thus far in 2011. The Falcons never should have been down 23-7 at the end of the first half, after all.

Yet I can't help but feel my usual buoyant optimism right now. When the Falcons put it all together, there is no NFL team I would rather watch. If they can just sustain that level of play, I say to myself, this could be the year. It still might be.

Either way, it's worth celebrating that the Falcons are 8-5 and one step closer to the playoffs. With a Thursday night game at home against the Jaguars, they should be able to lock up their fourth straight winning season. Should. For better or for worse, nothing is certain with these Falcons.

After the jump, I'll break down some individual performances.

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There are a million ways to look at your average football game. A close win can either be a discouragingly close one or a huge relief, depending on where your team is in the standings and what your expectations are. While I realize not everyone will share this opinion, here's what I thought about the Falcons' 23-17 win against the Titans yesterday.

It was awesome.

After all, the defense did hold Chris Johnson to 13 yards on 12 carries. They did hold the Titans to 266 passing yards overall and just 17 points. And hey, didn't Matt Ryan throw for 316 yards and display the kind of accuracy we've been pining after all season? Didn't Roddy White bounce back with one of his biggest games in months? Wasn't Michael Turner his usual effective self?

The problems here were mainly of execution and scheming. It's a major concern that Mike Mularkey still can't call his way out of a paper bag in the red zone, and at times Brian Van Gorder's soft zone can frustrate fans to no end. When the Falcons walk away with a win and those are the two complaints I can reasonably lob, though, things turned out well.

Most importantly, the Falcons showed some resilience. After letting Jake Locker do unspeakable things to the defense for a couple of drives, they came through on the game-deciding offensive drive and ran down the clock. They fought through their mistakes this week and were able to pull it out, something we've not seen all season.

So rejoice in this one. It gives the Falcons some momentum heading into another must-win against the Minnesota Vikings next weekend.

After the jump, my usual breakdown of performances. Hit it with me.

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How do you distill a game like this?

The Falcons played an error-ridden, sloppy game of football for almost four full quarters. They made mistakes on offense, blunders on defense and screw-ups on special teams. The coaching staff called an extraordinarily bad game on offense, in particular.

Yet the Falcons put it all together near the end of the game, coming up huge when they were down by 10 in the fourth quarter. If not for some poor throws by Matt Ryan, they might have won it outright. Instead, they went to overtime, where the entire game came down to a 4th and 1 around the 30 yard-line. 

Unfortunately, that play may be the distillation of the game. Perhaps it is the very ether of the season. The Falcons fought hard, overcame mistakes and tried to do something gutsy. They were undone once more by a terrible playcall--Turner's first and only carry of overtime, one that required him to charge through a prepared defensive line from almost five yards back--and a lack of great execution. A few short plays later, it was 26-23 Saints, and we were all left looking for answers, again.

At this point, sitting at 5-4, all we can do is use ifs about this Falcons team. If they put it all together, they'd be unstoppable. If they can build on that late game momentum and crush some easy opponents in the weeks ahead, they can make the playoffs. If they can just stop making so many mistakes, they will be a dominant football team. And so on. We do this because it's impossible to admit to ourselves that this team might spend the rest of the season stumbling. We also do it because when the Falcons play well, they play exceptionally well. 

We don't know what lies ahead. We can take some solace in the fact that the Falcons played a very tough Saints team to the hilt, and it came after two good performances in a row. I'm not ready to put flowers on this team's grave just yet, even if I'm incredibly depressed at the moment. Hope springs eternal.

It's going to take a long time to process this one. After the jump, I'll do my best to sift through it all. 

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Standing at 4-3 coming into Lucas Oil Stadium, the Atlanta Falcons needed to keep up their winning ways. The Saints are just ahead of them, after all, and the Colts were a team that they needed to beat.

After Sunday, there can be no doubt that the Falcons are headed in the right direction. They've had poor games against inferior opponents before--the Seahawks leap to mind--but there was no sign of that in this one. Aside from a lackluster first half from Matt Ryan and a few hiccups in the run game, the Atlanta Falcons absolutely dominated yesterday.

This game gave us a glimpse of what the Falcons could do against the New Orleans Saints next week. They had big passing plays, ran the ball well and forced mistakes on defense. In fact, they were dominant in almost every phase of the game, coaxing a good performance out of Matt Bosher. Sure, the Colts are bad, but they're not so bad that this still didn't impress the hell out of me.

At 5-3, the Falcons are in excellent position in the NFC playoff race. A win next week would make it even better, as would a continued emphasis on a handful of explosive plays a game. It made a big difference in this one.

After the jump, I'll break down some individual performances. You know the drill. 

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There was a moment, in the third quarter, where everything seemed on the cusp of coming undone.

The Falcons had just allowed Cam Newton to march down the field and toss a short touchdown pass against them, and they were down 17-14. The third quarter malaise that has plagued the team all year long reared its ugly head, with the Falcons unable to do anything of substance. It looked like the same ol' second half Atlanta Falcons.

Then a funny thing happened in the fourth quarter: The Falcons dropped 17 points on the hapless Panthers, who after an admirable effort through the first three completely imploded. Cam Newton threw two picks, the defense was unable to contain a potent Michael Turner and that was it. The Falcons ended up winning, 31-17.

This was a big win for any number of reasons, chief among them that the Falcons are now 3-3 heading into a very difficult game against the Detroit Lions next weekend. With the Buccaneers winning today, the Falcons are now in sole possession of second place and still in the thick of things in the NFC South, just a game down. It also proved that the Falcons could put together at least three good quarters, something that was in doubt as recently as this morning.

That should buoy our spirits for a week, and it gives the Falcons a shot in the arm. After the jump, we'll break down some individual performances. 

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The Atlanta Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 35-31. If that's all you've heard about the game and you want to save yourself a face-melting ride through the details of the game, I suggest you steer clear of The Falcoholic for the rest of the day.

The referees were bad, fumbling with calls that hurt both teams but seemed especially geared toward making me tear my hair out. The Eagles were good for most of the game before falling apart. But ultimately, the Falcons pissed away an 11 point lead, showed no offensive urgency, couldn't or wouldn't protect Matt Ryan and once again failed at tackling. They did all those things and still won, thanks to a little luck, a lot of hanging in there and some brilliant fourth quarter play.

The Falcons desperately needed to walk out of the Georgia Dome with a victory, and they got one. Now the key will be to build on a haphazard game that was won by the skin of the god of grace's teeth and start kicking some serious ass. Obviously, I think the Falcons can do just that.

After the jump, you'll find my full breakdown. Join me.

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