ATLANTA - You know how everyone has a fishing story about the big one that got away? Now the Atlanta Falcons have one, too.
Not that they may ever want to be forced to repeat it at family reunions and such, because it surely hurts more than that mighty minnow your bamboo pole couldn't hold on to at the neighborhood fishing hole.
Having all but put the Miami Dolphins on ice by halftime of Sunday's game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with Atlanta's lead a quite comfortable 17-0, the Falcons somehow let it all get away in the final 30 minutes, falling 20-17 to Florida's most famous finned creatures.
An interception by the Dolphins' Reshad Jones at the Miami 6 officially sealed it with 39 seconds to go. But it unofficially unraveled much earlier - as in, right about the time the second half started. That's when all that energy and flawless execution the Falcons had shown in the opening half after last weekend's open date disappeared.
That's when the Dolphins scored two third-quarter touchdowns to pull within 17-14, then tied it less than six minutes into the final frame on a 49-yard yard Cody Parkey field goal after a muffed Atlanta punt attempt. When Parkey connected again from 38 yards away with 2:31 to go, the Dolphins had all the points they would need to deliver Atlanta a second straight home loss.
"For us not to close today like we wanted is disappointing," said third-year Falcons coach Dan Quinn, whose team fell to 3-2. "It totally bums you out."
Added quarterback Matt Ryan: "Just a pretty inconsistent game for us."
What may be beginning to totally bum out Atlanta fans is the chance this maddeningly inconsistent play is simply representative of who the Falcons are.
Quinn said the game "ended up being a tale of two halves," but maybe the Falcons are more like two teams. Sometimes, particularly in the first halves of games, they're the Good Falcons. That happened Sunday, when they not only ran out to a 17-0 cushion but also piled up a 233-140 advantage in yards and a third-down efficiency of 67 percent (4-of-6) compared to 25 percent (1-of-4) for the visitors.
"I was happy to see our energy," Quinn said of those first 30 minutes.
But that energy was nowhere to be found in the final half, much as it disappeared against in a 23-17 loss to Buffalo two weeks ago. In Atlanta's defense, the previous loss was sideswiped by injuries to wide receivers Julio Jones (who was back in action against Miami) and Mohamed Sanu (who wasn't).
This time the Falcons entered their locker room at halftime as Superman only to exit as Clark Kent.
"We put ourselves behind schedule," said Ryan, offering up one of those new-age sports clichés that's sure to find its way into a news conference for Tennessee Volunteers coach Butch Jones any day now.
"It's tough to overcome (that) against a good defense," Ryan added.
Indeed, in Sunday's final half, against a team that had scored but 41 points through its first four games, Atlanta morphed into the same Bad Falcons who lost to Buffalo. They even looked at least a little like that Atlanta team that fell apart down the stretch of the game whose name has become two words no Falcon wishes to hear: Super Bowl.
They spent the spring and summer telling everyone willing to listen that their awful collapse from a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots in February was long behind them. They'd talked about it. They'd brooded over it. They'd lost lots of sleep dealing with the nightmares that would invariably haunt any team that had just blown the biggest lead in the big game's history.
But they've promised - each and every one of them, at all times - that those nightmares and that collapse are behind them. Forever.
"I don't go that far back," Ryan said when asked about a Super Bowl hangover.
Added Quinn: "You can't replay the game that was played in the Super Bowl. It was a historic game and one that we didn't get done, but we don't look back to that one on every opportunity when we're ahead or when we're behind."
You have to trust their words. They're the guys in that locker room and on the field. They're the guys attempting to erase those demons from their dreams. But they also are, at least for now, a team whose whole appears to be weaker than the sum of its considerably talented parts.
The good news for the Falcons is they still have at least 11 games in which they can play both halves with equal passion and purpose. They're a long way from worrying about a return to the playoffs.
But they also face those darn Patriots on the road next Sunday night in a game that will be nationally televised by NBC. If ever there is a chance for this team to perform its own exorcism, this is its chance - perhaps its only chance for a clean break from these haunted and hurtful past nine months.
"Every week is a championship week," Falcons safety Ricardo Allen said of New England. "We know they are going to give us their best shot, and we will give them our best shot. Today and last week, I don't feel like we put our best shot on the field."
Yet if Quinn is growing concerned, he shows no visible signs of it.
"Not only are we fun to watch, but we're also tough as hell to beat," he said. "But until that consistency becomes right, where you no longer have mistakes that are costly, we can't be the best version of ourselves."
For far more reasons than one, next weekend in New England would be an excellent place to become that best version.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.