Falcons vs. Bears Recap: Atlanta looks out of sorts in 27-13 home loss to Chicago

The Atlanta Falcons needed to pull out a win against the Chicago Bears, but their home game prowess was largely absent as they came up short in a 27-13 loss.

The team is in the midst of a tough seven-game stretch. Today's game was their last game in the Georgia Dome until November 23, and the next "home" game is in London in Week 8 as they "host" the Detroit Lions.

The Falcons were supposed to be a different team at home. The prowess Through their first two home games, they averaged 46.5 points and 528 yards. Those averages are in stark contrast to the 19.3 points and 372.3 yards on the road.

Atlanta's play Sunday evening wasn't indicative of a home performance. Their numbers – 13 points and 287 yards – paled in comparison to past home showings. It also didn't sound like a home game, as there were Bears fans aplenty in the Georgia Dome. Matt Ryan was even forced to burn a timeout at one point because the Chicago fans were too loud.

Atlanta looked out of sorts from the start. Julio Jones and Roddy White had two early drops, and the offense as a whole looked stagnant.

At the half, Atlanta had just three points and 98 yards of total offense compared to Chicago's 13 points and 275 yards.

The Falcons did pick it up in the third quarter, however. They had possession first and proceeded to put together a seven-play, 86-yard drive that was capped off by a 41-yard touchdown catch and run by Antone Smith. At one point on the drive, the Falcons were 1st and 29 thanks to penalties.

After stopping the Bears offense, Atlanta put three more points on the board to tie the game at 13.

From there, it was all Chicago. On the next drive, Jay Cutler connected with Alshon Jeffery on a 74-yard bomb to set up a six-yard touchdown run from Matt Forte.

Forte would score again from nine yards out in the fourth quarter to put the game officially out of reach. He had 80 yards on the ground as well as 10 receptions for 77 yards.

The Bears totaled 478 yards of offense. Cutler picked the Falcons defense apart, throwing for 381 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. Brandon Marshall had his first 100-yard game of the season, and Jeffery finished with 136 yards on five catches.

It doesn't get much easier from here. Next week, the Falcons go on the road to take on the 4-2 Baltimore Ravens.

Notes

The Falcons were inefficient on third down once again. They successfully converted just four of 13 attempts.

Seven dropped passes for the Falcons. Seven. Levine Toilolo was the prime culprit, but Jones and White had their share as well.

Jared Allen and Willie Young were free agents before signing with the Bears. The two players totaled three sacks.

Atlanta did show signs of pass rushing life. They were able to sack Cutler three times, putting their season total at seven.

The Falcons were never in red zone territory.