Parker Romo's missed PAT hurt Drake London's strong game vs. Patriots.

Daniel Mader

•
How Falcons kicker Parker Romo's missed extra point spoiled Drake London's big day vs. Patriots image

The New England Patriots have improved to 8-2, among the NFL's best after Week 9. In their most recent victory though, Mike Vrabel's squad benefitted from some miscues on the opposing side.

Drake Maye tossed two touchdown passes in a 24-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, but that one-point difference was the result of a rare kicking error -- Atlanta's Parker Romo missed the extra point on WR Drake London's third score of the day.

Despite a career performance from London, the Falcons dropped to 3-5, unable to overcome Romo's miss.

Here's a look at how London's huge Week 9 performance wound up for naught due to the Romo's missed extra point.

MORE WEEK 9 NFL:

Romo miss costs Falcons game

New England took a 21-14 lead into halftime of Sunday's inter-conference matchup, with Maye tossing touchdowns to Stefon Diggs and DeMario Douglas. Running back Terrell Jennings also found the end zone -- while London, the Falcons' top wideout, had already scored twice on short-range passes from Michael Penix Jr.

After the two sides traded field goals in the early portion of the second half, the Falcons found themselves with a chance to tie, or take the lead, with under five minutes remaining. Trailing 24-17, Atlanta entered the red zone.

Penix connected with London yet again for an eight-yard touchdown. For a moment, Atlanta appeared to have a shot to take down the AFC East leaders for a much-needed win to gain momentum in the NFC South.

Instead, when the team's extra-point attempt went up from Parker Romo, it was wide-right.

Romo, a practice squad member with the Patriots as recently as August 2025, was the Falcons' replacement for Younghoe Koo this season. He had not missed any of his 10 extra-point attempts so far in 2025.

That wasn't the Falcons' last chance, so it wasn't fully on Romo — Atlanta got the ball back with 3:30 left, but wound up punting after a failed 3rd & 20 play. New England took over with two minutes remaining, and ate the rest of the clock.

"We have to find a way to win that one," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said postgame, per Tori McElhaney.

On Romo's miss, Morris also said he doesn't make "emotional decisions" as "these things happen."

Romo told reporters postgame that it was a "tough one," and "nobody wanted this win more than I did in this lockeroom," per Waack. 

"Got to keep my head up. A lot of teammates still have faith in me, came up to me. Got to move on to this next week," Romo said. "Can't let this one kick affect me. Anytime I go out on the field, I need to make the kick, and that's all it is."

MORE: Which teams could be fits for Kirk Cousins at trade deadline?

London's stats today

  • Receptions:  9
  • Yards:  118
  • TDs:  3
  • AVG:  13.1

Over 14 targets from Penix, London had himself a day in the losing effort against the Patriots. The fourth-year receiver found the end zone three times, almost single-handedly leading the Falcons' comeback attempt.

Early in the game, Penix went to London for a high-point catch from just over a yard out.

London's second score came just before halftime, helping Atlanta inch closer to a potential comeback. 

The star receiver's third and final score was his most impressive — it came on a one-handed snag in the end zone on fourth down, just before Romo's missed extra point.

Even outside of the touchdowns, London was dominating against New England's secondary throughout the game.

According to Statmuse, London became the first Falcons player with three receiving touchdowns in a game since Cordarrelle Patterson. London has three 100-plus yard performances and five total touchdowns over his last four games.

Morris said postgame that his star receiver played with "uncommon effort," per Terrin Waack.

AFC East race

With the Patriots' narrow win, they extended their lead in the AFC East entering Week 10. The Buffalo Bills have yet to finish their matchup against Kansas City, but cannot reach first place in the division either way.

As the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins trend toward the cellar of the AFC, New England has the AFC East advantage over Buffalo as the stretch-run of the regular season approaches:

RankTeamRecordWin Percentage
1New England Patriots8-2.800
2Buffalo Bills5-2.714
3Miami Dolphins2-7.222
4New York Jets1-7.125

Contributing Writer