Yeah, so that happened.
Tomlin was exposed last night as the clueless cheerleader he is. Obviously no cohesive game plan, no strategy adjustments. Rush 3 and drop the rest into soft zone and hope for some drops was his and the DC's game plan I guess. Inexcusable. Do they not remember the 2011/2012 (forgot) game when they beat NE with tight man-to-man?
As far as offense goes, it was pretty much one-on-eleven. Secondary receivers were straight-up hands-of-stone trash. No running game, didn't matter that Bell was hurt. Haley completely incapable of a game plan that didn't rely on Bell getting 150+ yards.
Finally, I am so SO SICK of the gutless, spineless, sackless conservatism of NFL coaches. McCarthy was at it again, learned NOTHING from last year. Happy to keep punting on 4th and short despite the fact that A) you have Aaron Frickin Rodgers who can pass or scramble for 2 measly yards most of the time, and B) there was no stopping the ATL offense. "field position" doesn't mean JACK SHIT when the opponent is getting 10+ yards per play. Punt the ball to them, and 2 plays later they are back to the yard line you punted from. The worst example: after the 15-yd roughing penalty, GB kicked off from the 50 into the end zone anyway instead of trying an onside kick. If the onside kick fails, you lose maybe 15 yds of field position (the 25 after the touchback vs around the 40 probably). You need to maximize your possessions when you are going against the best (by far) offense in the league. Nope, McCarthy was happy to keep giving the ball back to them. In a do-or-die game, you have FOUR chances to get your 10 yards, not THREE. Incomprehensible concept to ultra-conservative, coach-to-not-be-second-guessed cowardice of most NFL coaches.
Tomlin was at it too: punted from the the NE 39 when already well behind. Gutless, spineless, sackless. "Hey guys, after this punt we''ll gain maybe 20 yards of field position. Great strategy, right? Brady can't possiby engineer a drive from back there can he?". The whole approach to the game was cowardly, try to "ease into it" with predictable running plays instead of attacking NE where they are weaker (pass defense was not nearly good as run defense).
Patriot fans: what's it like to have a capable coach at the helm? I wish I could remember the feeling. Congrats on a great game plan and execution.
Go Falcons; would be nice to see them finally win one.