Flowery Branch — Much of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's success against Carolina Sunday came when it was most needed — on third down.
The team converted on 6 of 12 third downs in the 28-20 victory over the Panthers.
After the Panthers took a 10-7 lead, Ryan had his best third-down stretch of the day. During the 14-play drive that ended with running back Jason Snelling scoring his first career touchdown on a 10-yard reception, Ryan converted on four straight third downs.
On third-and-2 from Atlanta’s 28, he completed a pass to Tony Gonzalez for 3 yards.
On third-and-4 from Atlanta’s 37, he completed a pass to Marty Booker for 27 yards.
On third-and-11 from Carolina’s 37, Ryan found Booker again for 15 yards.
On third-and-7 from Carolina’s 19, Ryan completed a pass to Gonzalez for 9 yards.
“Last year, we were good on third down,” wide receiver Roddy White said. “We try to be close to 50 percent or over 50 percent on third down. We want to get the third downs, move the chains and score touchdowns.”
Against Carolina, Ryan was 7 of 10 for 78 yards on third down with no touchdowns and one interception. His passer rating on third down was 53.3. But if you take away the interception, it soars to 92.9.
Overall, Ryan has completed 14 of 24 passes for 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception on third down. His third-down passer rating of 74.7 is 18th in the league.
Riverboat gambler
The Falcons also were successful twice when they went for it on fourth down.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in our offense and our offensive line,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “When you are in fourth-and-short, I feel like the odds are in our favor especially with the guys that we have.”
Etc.
The replay at the end of Sunday’s game came from the NFL replay booth upstairs. Smith said officials were looking to see if there was a catch on the final play or if the Falcons had 12 men on the field. They did not review if the time had expired. ... Linebacker Mike Peterson’s forced fumble ended Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams’ streak of 502 touches (carries or catches) without a fumble, the longest streak in the league.
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