Here’s what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said after the 34-27 win over the Broncos on Sunday:
On the two-game winning streak: “It feels good. 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.”
On the Falcons receiving corps: “I love our group. 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. They’re not scared to go over the middle to catch footballs and play physical. 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.”
On players stepping up with WR Calvin Ridley injured: “Olamide [Zaccheaus] is doing a great job. Brandon [Powell] is doing a great job for us. They were uncertain whether or not Calvin [Ridley] was going to go but you have to have the mindset that you’re going to be in there every week and your number is going to be called. I think both of those guys do a good job of having themselves ready to play week in and week out. For them to step up and come away with touchdowns today was huge for us.”
On the offense stalling late in the game: “I think we’ve got a few things that we’ve got to clean up in that portion of the game. There are things we can do better. I’ve got to take a sack or just go down in a situation so that we keep the clock moving. 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.”
On Julio Jones mentoring the young receivers: “He’s an unbelievable mentor. There’s no question about it. Ju is about as generous with his time of teaching people as any player that I’ve been around. He does a great job. He’s got incredible experience and a wealth of knowledge. He understands our offense inside and out. He has certainly expedited the development of all those guys.”
On trying to use a hard count against Denver’s defense: “We tried to. They do a great job of disguising coverage and so we wanted to make sure we were doing a little bit of everything from a cadence standpoint to try and keep them off-balance. They got me on one or two today and I feel like I got them on a few. I think I did okay on that. There were still a few that I think I could do better.”
On the team adapting a late-game mentality: “I saw guys step up defensively. 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 and I think that has shown.”
On the weeks ahead: “I think we’ve got to approach it the same way we’ve been approaching it for the last few. 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.”
On Julio Jones helping his development as a quarterback: “He’s been a huge part of my growth. 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. 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. 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.”
On his bye week plans: “During the pandemic, you’ve got to be low key. We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure we’re all staying healthy. We’ll have a great time playing with the kids and just relaxing and getting some rest.”
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