RON SEIBEL: Red-zone woes continue to haunt Falcons

For those wanting the home team to make the Super Bowl for the first time this February, opening night was not a good night.

Just where was the Atlanta Falcons’ offense?

The last thing Falcons fans wanted to see in Thursday’s opener at Philadelphia was a field goal festival. Yet, for a half, that’s all either side could muster.

Sure, the Falcons claimed a brief fourth-quarter lead on a Tevin Coleman touchdown. But, when the chips were down and Atlanta needed just 5 yards to win the game, what do we get? The inability of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones to connect in the red zone, an issue that carried over from last season.

According to a tweet from ESPN Stats & Info, Ryan-to-Jones has paid off just once in 20 red zone attempts the past two seasons. That’s not a number you want to have for your top pass catcher.

Does that connection work if Jones didn’t hold out for most of the offseason? Who knows. He’s a professional, and I give him the benefit of the doubt for working out on his own while his deal was worked out. I’m sure Ryan and Jones ran a few routes in Destin or some other high-end destination at some point … Jones’ 169 yards on 10 catches Thursday is proof of that.

Still, the inability to score when it counts is just not a good look for a franchise whose fans know all too well about high-profile losses. While there’s plenty of time to make things right in the next 15 games, Round 1 left a bad taste with Falcons fans.

It’s not just Jones’ inability to come up big in the red zone that’s concerning. A completion percentage for Ryan below 50 percent? A TD-to-INT ratio that’s in the hole? A run game that didn’t have a back reach the 50-yard mark? Not good.

There’s no time to relax or tinker. A pair of key division games are next, with Carolina visiting next Sunday and New Orleans coming to town in two weeks.

The margin between success and failure in the NFL is thin. We’ll find out a lot more about this Falcons team quickly.

Eye on the Braves

The bad news for the Atlanta Braves? They were 3-7 in their past 10 games heading into Saturday night’s contest at Arizona.

The good news? Philadelphia was 4-6 in its previous 10 games heading into Saturday. That meant the Braves still had a 2.5-game lead in the NL East.

With three weeks remaining, 2.5 games is too close for comfort. Atlanta is a game back of St. Louis for the second wild-card spot at this point, so the easiest route to the postseason at this point is to win the division.

The Braves stay out west to start the week with a series at San Francisco before returning home Friday to face Washington. The Phillies, who are in New York this weekend, host Washington and Miami this week.

Seven of the Braves’ final 10 games are against Philadelphia. This race will go right to the end.

Contact sports editor Ron Seibel at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ronseibel.