NFC North Week 2 roundup: Each team loses as Packers drop by 1 point to Falcons, Lions fall at home to Seahawks

When Arthur Smith sent the word to his offense — we’re going for it on fourth down — the Atlanta Falcons were fired up.

Bijan Robinson and his blockers were determined to make it the right call.

Capping another dynamic day for the rookie running back, Robinson ripped off a 7-yard run on fourth-and-1 to set up Younghoe Koo’s 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining as the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 25-24 victory over Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

“When you get told, ‘Get the first down,’ you’ve got to do everything you can to do it for your team,” Robinson said.

He rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and hauled in four catches for another 48 yards, showing why the Falcons (2-0) selected him No. 8 pick in the draft even though running backs aren’t supposed to go that high anymore.

“When you get the right guy for your team, that’s all you can ask for,” Robinson said, breaking into a big smile.

The fourth-down conversion came with the Falcons in field-goal range at the Green Bay 23, but 2:08 left on the clock. Smith decided to gamble, not wanting to leave the Packers plenty of time to drive for a field goal of their own.

“It shows he’s got a lot of confidence in us,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “It was exciting to get that fourth down.”

The Packers (1-1) squandered a 24-12 lead and three more touchdown passes from Love, who now has a half-dozen scoring throws in his first two games as Aaron Rodgers’ replacement.

Atlanta’s young quarterback, Desmond Ridder, sparked the comeback by bootlegging for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Then it was Ridder and Robinson teaming up for drives that set up two of Koo’s four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 8:13 remaining.

Robinson had 56 yards rushing and 27 yards receiving in his NFL debut, a 24-10 victory over the Panthers.

He was even better against the Packers.

Love completed 14 of 25 passes for 151 yards and hooked up with a pair of rookies on his three TDs — not too shabby considering the injury-depleted offense around him.

But the Packers offense dried up in the final quarter, allowing the Falcons to move to 2-0 for only the 11th time in franchise history.

“It just comes down to execution and being better in the fourth quarter and being able to play a full game,” Love said.

In their last three possessions, the Packers managed just 11 yards and no first downs, with Love failing to complete any of his six passes.

The Falcons pounded Green Bay into submission, finishing with 211 yards rushing and 446 yards overall. The Packers had just 224 yards, including 84 on the ground.

“They shredded us consistently,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said.

The first three quarters went much better for the Packers.

Love connected with second-round pick Jayden Reed for touchdowns of 10 and 9 yards — the first scores of the receiver’s young career.

Love also went to Dontayvion Wicks on a 32-yard touchdown that gave the fifth-round draft choice his first TD as a pro.

The Packers were missing three injured starters on offense and lost another during the game, leaving Love to play behind a patched-together line.

While the Falcons converted a couple of huge fourth-down plays in the final period, the Packers messed up one of their own that could have helped them fend off the Atlanta comeback.

After the Falcons closed to 24-22, Green Bay decided to go for it on fourth-and-1 at its own 34. Love dove through a gap on the right side, but there was a problem.

He didn’t have the ball. It was never snapped and no one else on offense moved.

“I said the wrong thing, so it’s pretty much not a play until I give the live word,” Love conceded. “I gave the wrong live word on that one.”

The Packers were penalized for a false start and had to punt. The Falcons drove for the winning field goal.

Geno Smith, Tyler Lockett and the Seattle Seahawks showed their season-opening lopsided loss may have been just an aberration.

The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, followed up a fantastic win with a loss that took some luster off their start to the season.

Smith threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Lockett on the opening drive of overtime to lift Seattle to a 37-31 win over Detroit on Sunday.

“We had been moving the ball really well all game,” said Smith, who was 32 of 41 for 328 yards with two TD throws to Lockett. “We had a lot of confidence that we could go down the field and get that touchdown.”

The Seahawks bounced back from a 30-13 stinging setback at home to the Los Angeles Rams with the impressive win.

“We knew that wasn’t our team last week,” Smith said.

The Seahawks (1-1) earned the victory after the Lions (1-1) came back from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter.

Detroit extended the game with Riley Patterson’s 38-yard field goal as regulation expired after coach Dan Campbell was uncharacteristically conservative with his approach and settled for the tie instead of going for the win.

“I did not want to give the ball back,” Campbell said. “That was No. 1.”

Detroit rallied after Smith threw a go-ahead, 3-yard touchdown pass to Lockett early in the fourth and Tre Brown returned a Jared Goff interception 40 yards for a score on the ensuring drive to give Seattle a 31-21 lead. Goff went 28 of 35 for 323 yards, three touchdowns and the one costly pick, his first interception in 383 attempts — 30 shy of Aaron Rodgers’ NFL record.

“This is a big weight off our shoulders,” Brown said. “Those guys are amazing and the energy was electric in here. Everyone was talking about Goff’s streak.”

Goff showed his resilience by throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass on the next drive to Josh Reynolds with 3:08 left in the game.

Detroit forced Seattle to punt on the ensuing possession on fourth-and-35, sacking Smith for the first — and only time — when Alex Anzalone tracked him down at his 3. That set up the tying field goal.

But the Seahawks won the overtime coin toss and Smith marched them 75 yards in nine plays for the game-ending score.

In the end, Detroit failed to give its fired-up fans a reason to cheer after opening the season with a win on the road against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

“This is good,” Campbell said. “We’ll get a little humble pie.”

Seattle started strong, going 75 yards on 12 plays in nearly 8 minutes with Walker scoring on a 1-yard run.

The Lions answered quickly on Goff’s 22-yard touchdown throw to Josh Reynolds. They took a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter when rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon was fooled on a flea flicker in his NFL debut, allowing Kalif Raymond to get behind him to catch Goff’s 36-yard pass.

“That was tough,” Witherspoon said. “They made a great play, but all my teammates were telling me to keep my head and my composure.”

On Detroit’s first snap of the second half, David Montgomery fumbled at the Lions 22 and Seattle took advantage with Walker’s 3-yard touchdown run to pull into a tie

“Take the turnovers away, we’re in control of that game,” Campbell said.

In a Thursday game, Jalen Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the NFC champion Eagles held off the turnover-prone Vikings 34-28.

Hurts shook off a sluggish passing performance in the first half when he connected with Smith for the scoring strike in the third quarter that made it 27-7.

It almost wasn’t enough as Kirk Cousins tried to rally the Vikings late. But Minnesota couldn’t overcome four lost fumbles as it fell to 0-2. The Eagles are 2-0.

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