Falcons escape Week 1 with lackluster win, look to Packers

ATLANTA — After a historic collapse in the Super Bowl and a winless preseason, the Atlanta Falcons were rather desperate for a victory.

With that out of the way, there are plenty of concerns heading into Week 2.

The Falcons hardly looked like a team capable of making another run to the title game as they slogged past the lowly Chicago Bears, requiring a goal-line stand in the final seconds to preserve a 23-17 victory.

The run game was shaky. There were some costly penalties and a plethora of missed tackles.

Given what happened in the last game that counted — Atlanta squandered a 28-3 lead to New England, losing 34-28 in the Super Bowl’s first overtime game — at least the Falcons could relish making some big plays when it really mattered.

“We were challenged at the end of the game right off bat,” coach Dan Quinn said Monday. “We were ready for those lessons to come through, but you don’t have the answers until you’re in it again. It was nice to have the guys battle for it at the end.”

Then again, it certainly helped to be going against the Bears (a team that has lost 35 of its last 49 games) and Mike Glennon (who is now 5-14 as a starting quarterback).

The Patriots and Tom Brady, they aren’t.

Quinn knows his team has a lot of work on before it faces the Green Bay Packers in the home opener Sunday night, a rematch of last season’s NFC championship game and potentially the first openair NFL game in Atlanta since 1991. Officials announced late Sunday they have finally addressed issues with the complex roof at $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and it will be open for the prime-time game if the weather, as expected, is warm and clear.

It wasn’t very good on Monday, that’s for sure.

With the remnants of Irma pummeling the Atlanta area with high winds and heavy rains, Quinn changed up the schedule so everyone could get home early.