irst half of their finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was as bad of a half of football as they’ve played all season long — like the entire team was encased in the hardening amber of a season gone off the rails. But they came alive after halftime Stitched Giorgio Tavecchio Jersey , forcing a turnover and utilizing creative red zone schemes en route to a 34-32 win in the final seconds over the Bucs. Here’s the final Hat Tips & Head-Scratchers for the 2018 season.Hat TipsOpening drive stopThe Falcons have given up points all year long on opposing teams’ opening drives, so a three-and-out to start the game was a nice surprise. It might have been a mulligan, however, as Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers’ offense carved up the Falcons’ defense on the subsequent drive, culminating in an over-the-shoulder touchdown grab for Mike Evans.The Philly Special The Falcons Special? The Atlanta Okey-Doke? I’m workshopping aloud here, but regardless of what you call it: it was awesome. In what was potentially Steve Sarkisian’s last stand, he reached deep into his bag of tricks and dialed up The Philly Special in the third quarter. Snap to Matt Ryan, hand-off to Calvin Ridley Youth Giorgio Tavecchio Jersey , pitch to Mohamed Sanu and a flip to Matt Ryan with the finger tip catch at the right pylon. Gorgeous. It was Matt Ryan’s first reception in the NFL, and of course it went for a touchdown. Mohamed Sanu boosted his career passing touchdown total to four, and the play jump-started the second half for a team that was dead in the water for the first 30 minutes of the game.Matt Bryant seals itMatt Bryant closed out 2018 in typical fashion. After some welcome clock management in the waning seconds, Bryant came on and did what he’s done his entire career: win football games. He split the uprights on a 37-yarder as the clock hit zero, sending the Falcons into the offseason with a 34-32 victory over his former team. Robert Alford prevents two-point conversion Robert Alford may or may not be on this Falcons team next season for a litany of reasons — glaring lapses in coverage, penalties, payroll — but he can still flash at times. He did so in the fourth quarter after a Tampa touchdown, making a crucial tackle on Chris Godwin to prevent a two-point conversion that would’ve put the game within a field goal. Alford deserves the criticism he receives for his play in 2018 Stitched Austin Hooper Jersey , but this was one of his highlights.Head-Scratchers First half energy This isn’t much of a head-scratcher — it’s how the team has looked for most of the second half of the season. If the Falcons had made a conscious decision to tank this game, it would have looked much like the first half. Aside from Grady Jarrett, it didn’t seem like anyone really wanted to be out there at all.Third downs Dove-tailing from the above, the Falcons went 0-5 on third down conversions in the first half. You aren’t going to win if you can’t move the chains, and the offense looked entirely pitiful.2018 NFL picks: The Falcoholic staff predicts Panthers vs. Falcons and other Week 2 games Are you stressed out about the Falcons sending both Keanu Neal and Deion Jones to injured reserve? We are, too, but it didn’t really dampen our confidence in the Falcons’ ability to beat the Panthers this Sunday even a little bit. All of us — even this week’s enemy guest picker, our frenemy Brian Beversluis from Cat Scratch Reader — has picked the Falcons to knock off the Panthers. Perhaps it’s echoes of that one time Matt Ryan threw for 500-plus yards and Julio Jones went off for an even 300 receiving yards against a trash Panthers secondary Youth Austin Hooper Jersey , or maybe it’s the fact that the Panthers are in just as dire of an injury situation as the Falcons are these days. But the whole squad is rolling with Atlanta this week. Elsewhere around the league, a bunch of these pickers must have forgotten that the Browns actually tied the Steelers and the Saints lost last week to the Ryan Fitzpatrick-led Buccaneers. Most of our writers are rolling with the Saints nonetheless. As for the Bucs, only Dave Choate thinks they can beat the Eagles. For the primetime game, our pickers are favoring the Ravens, Giants, and Bears. Maybe Dave is on to something, because he’s tied at the top with Adnan Ikic and Kyle McClendon (who had not submitted his picks at publish time) at 4-2. Most of us are tied at 3-3, and we’ve got James Rael Stitched Deion Jones Jersey , who did not pick last week, at the rear with a clean slate. My dog selected Falcoholic community member RojoFalcon as our guest picker this week.Sadly, RojoFalcon apparently did not check his email. Check your email, RojoFalcon, and I’ll update this post if you get your picks in before the game tonight. Here are all of this week’s picks. The Falcoholic’s Week 2 NFL picksNameRecordCAR vs. ATLBAL vs. CINPHI vs. TBCLE vs. NONYG vs. DALSEA vs. CHINameRecordCAR vs. ATLBAL vs. CINPHI vs. TBCLE vs. NONYG vs. DALSEA vs. CHIIf you want to be in the running to be our guest picker for next week’s slate of games, make your picks in the comments.