The first quarter dug a huge hole with the offense literally gifting Atlanta 17 points. Without such gifts the defence held to 22 points. Did the defence execute? No they did not.
To some degree after the 1st quarter there was nothing to lose by going for it at every opportunity with the message "you got us into this mess you go get us out of it."
The calls send the message I believe in your ability and expect you to deliver no matter the game position. Arguably for every blown call players simply did not execute but you will not win if you play with fear of failing.
The win came from putting players in a position to succeed. You keep putting players in a position to execute. As a coach if they fail you take the hit - it is on you. If they execute it is on them.
At this stage you could reasonably argue Mr McCarthy was reckless. He in all probability after a truncated pre season had no idea whether the players could deliver at any given point. However he needed to know. Just as importantly the players needed to know both as a locker room and as individual players. Now they do.
Having watched Garrett coach for many years do I think he put players into a position to win? In large part he did, but did he do it enough when the going got tough? No. He at key points he would play the percentages and would not coach to win but to avoid failure.
Different message - different result.