Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, without his top receiver, moved the ball around to eight receivers and tossed touchdown passes to three receivers in the 34-27 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
The Falcons started out fast and then fizzled down the stretch, which allowed Denver to rally from a 27-6 deficit to within one-score with 1:51 to play.
“It feels good,” Ryan said of the first back-to-back wins. “Obviously, I thought we did a lot of really good things today. We certainly still have a lot of things to clean up, but to put two back-to-back is good. Now, we’ve got to get some rest and find a way to get it to three.”
In the second quarter, Ryan’s 12th completion he surpassed Peyton Manning (4,682) for the most completions through a player’s first 13 seasons in NFL history.
The was Ryan’s 44th game with three-plus touchdown passes, the most in franchise history and the 10th most in NFL history.
The Falcons won their previous outing, 25-17 against Carolina. They will now take their 3-6 mark in to the bye-week.
With Calvin Ridley out with a mid-foot sprain, Ryan completed 25 of 35 passes for 284 yards and one interception. He finished with a passer rating of 112.1.
Ryan tossed touchdown passes to Olamide Zaccheaus, Brandon Powell and Julio Jones.
Zaccheaus had four catches for 103 yards and a 51-yard touchdown. Tight end Hayden Hurst had seven catches for 62 yards and Jones had five catches for 54 yards.
“I love our group,” Ryan said. “I think it’s a group of guys that work extremely hard. They’re all talented. They’re all tough. They’re involved in the run game.”
Ryan even flipped an under-handed pass to tight end Luke Stocker.
“They’re not scared to go over the middle to catch footballs and play physical,” Ryan said. “It’s a really good group. I’ve been lucky throughout my career to play with some great players and this group is right up there with any of them.”
Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
The Falcons scored on five of the first six possessions, excluding the kneel down at the end of the first half. On their final four possessions, they were forced to punt three times and couldn’t run the clock out with 1:51 to play.
Gurley went for four yards on first down, was held to no gain on second down before they had an illegal shift penalty that was declined after a yard gain on third down.
“I think we’ve got a few things that we’ve got to clean up in that portion of the game,” Ryan said. “There are things we can do better ... there are definitely things to clean up. I think everybody needs to look in the mirror and figure out what it is that they can do better in those situations so that we can close these games out a little bit quicker.”
When asked about the sluggish finished, Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris got defensive.
“Why are you guys so negative,” Morris quipped. “We scored on five of six possessions, stop being so greedy.”
He then had a simple response.
“They played better defense,” Morris said.
Ryan was glad that the defense held up in this game. The Falcons have blown big leads this season against the Cowboys, Bears and Lions.
“I saw guys step up defensively,” Ryan said. “Ricardo (Allen) with a great interception early and good stop at the end of the game as well. Just to get after the quarterback was huge. I think guys have got more comfortable in those situations and more confident. I think that has shown.”
After the bye week, the Falcons are set to play Nov. 22 at New Orleans.
“I think we’ve got to approach it the same way we’ve been approaching it for the last few,” Ryan said. “We’ve got to go 1-0. When we get after the bye, I think we play New Orleans. We’ve got to find a way to be 1-0 that week. That’s it. There’s a lot that can happen between now and the end of the season. We’ve got to keep our focus now.”
Ryan gave Jones credit for helping to keep the young receivers ready.
“He’s been a huge part of my growth,” Ryan said. "Playing with him for so long and just having so many conversations with him about how he sees things from his end and then explaining how things work on my end, I’ve definitely seen it in a different light.
Ryan also give Jones some credit for his own development.
“He’s probably better than anybody that I’ve been around of being able to communicate exactly how he’s going to do it and then go out there and being able to do it the first time,” Ryan said. “He’s an unbelievable talent. He’s impacted my career tremendously and I’ve been very fortunate to play with him for a long time.”
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