thing is, the Pats stopped killing themselves in the 2d half. The first half, they got that stupid time of possession edge because they had 3 trips inside the 35. They ended up getting outscored on those possessions 7-3, with the pick six. The drops were ridiculous, too. I thought they had dug too deep a hole without a break, but I thought they could move OK against ATL.
What I don't know is whether Atlanta got a bit to into trying to trade TDs rather than ran the clock. The 28-12 sack / turnover was on a "we need TDs" kind of play call rather than run and at worst kick a field goal. It was 3d and 1, I think. The sack after the Julio Jones inbounds catch was another overly-aggressive call.
More or less, going into the game, folks thought the Pats would try some ball control with Blount and short passes to keep an explosive offense off the field. In the 4th quarter, ATL should have been thinking more that way, but, if they are, they may not try the Jones sideline pass