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Upon Further Review: Falcons vs. Browns

The Falcons take on the Browns as they honor the men and women of the United States Armed Forces during the annual Salute to Service game. Here are photos from gameday.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Browns WR Josh Gordon. Gordon made his return to play after serving a 10-game suspension Sunday against the Falcons and showed absolutely no signs of rust in his 2014 debut. Gordon racked up 120 yards on eight receptions, and while he didn't find the end zone Sunday, his exploits helped put his team in position to earn the win in the Georgia Dome.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Facing third-and-2 with 55 seconds to go, the Falcons had called a time out to discuss the best possible play to keep the ball and the clock moving. A deep pass to Devin Hester was dialed up to catch Cleveland off-guard and was broken up, stopping the clock again and forcing the Falcons to try for the 53-yard field goal. Matt Bryant made good, but the Falcons left 44 seconds and three timeouts for the Browns to use to win the game.

TURNING POINT: The Falcons' defense put together a solid first half. Despite the offense turning the ball over twice during the first and second quarter, the Falcons defense was able to bail the unit out by forcing Cleveland into two field goals. After halftime, the tide changed defensively and the Browns were able to move the ball much more successfully. Cleveland's first drive of the half ended in points as 11 plays and 66 yards were good enough for another field goal. Before Desmond Trufant pulled off a huge interception in the end zone to end a seven-play, 74-yard drive for the Browns, two defensive penalties put the Falcons on trouble. Defensively, halftime turned the tide of the game for the Falcons.

INJURY ROUNDUP: In the third quarter, cornerback Robert McClain required help off the field after a 26-yard touchdown run by Cleveland's Isaiah Crowell. He was announced in the press box as having a calf injury and did not return to the game. There were no other announced injuries in Sunday's game for the Falcons.

DEFENSIVE WOES: The Falcons gave up 475 yards of offense to the Browns on Sunday, thanks in large part to Gordon's return and the injection of big-play ability into Cleveland's game plan. Sunday marked the fifth game in 2014 that the Falcons have given up 470 yards or more on defense.

RUN GAME STYMIED: Coming into the game the Browns boasted one of the better pass defenses in the league and one of the bottom run defenses among the 31 other teams. Against the Falcons, the defensive unit stepped up to stop the Atlanta rushing attack. The Browns held the Falcons to just 63 yards on the ground, despite averaging 142 run yards allowed per game. Steven Jackson led the Falcons with 13 rushes for 34 yards.

CREATING TURNOVERS CONTINUES: The Falcons, for all the defensive troubles in 2014, have found consistency in causing turnovers, and they did it some more Sunday. Safety Kemal Ishmael recorded his fourth interception of the season and third in the past three games. In the second half, Trufant pulled off a beautiful leaping interception to stop a Browns scoring threat. Rookie safety Dezmen Southward also notched his first interception of the season. Ten of the Falcons' points Sunday came off turnovers.

UP NEXT: The Falcons will host the red-hot Arizona Cardinals next Sunday for a 4:05 p.m. kickoff. Veteran safety William Moore will be eligible to return after a Week 4 injury landed him on injured reserve with the chance to come back.

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