Here's what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to say after the 29-3 win Sunday over the Panthers:
On getting their second consecutive victory: "I thought we played complimentary football today, really well. Defense played outstanding, did a great job of getting after the quarterback all day, created turnovers, which was huge. We had a special teams touchdown with Kenjon Barner, which was a great momentum boost in the first half. Then, offensively we did enough to get the job done. We played against a good defense, they are solid on that side of the ball. We made the plays we needed to, to get the job done."
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What opened up offensively? "They made a commitment to start the run today, they had numbers in the box the entire game, and they are good. They have good defensive linemen, very good linebackers, safeties are physical in the run game as well. They did a good job of taking that away, but we have special players on the outside, guys that make you pay. Both of our guys, Julio (Jones) and Calvin (Ridley), they played extremely well today. Rid had a huge game, it was great to see from him."
How does a defensive performance like this help the offense? "Well it's huge. When you are creating, I think we had four turnovers on the day, when you are creating turnovers like that, you are getting extra possessions and you are taking away possessions from them, it just gives you such an advantage. I think offensively we didn't do a good enough job of capitalizing on all those turnovers. We had some short field opportunities that we didn't come away with points, which was an area we can definitely improve; but the way our offense played, it gives you a chance every week."
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What do you think has been the big difference in this team the last two weeks? "I think we have just played consistent. At certain times throughout the year we have played really well, we just haven't been able to consistently do it for four quarters. The consistency and focus has been there the last two weeks and that's something that we need to bottle and use that as we move forward."
Without Austin Hooper and Devonta Freeman how did things shake out with the distribution? "Jaeden (Graham) did a good job for us coming in and stepping in. It is hard to replace Devonta (Freeman) and Austin (Hooper), guys that are so productive for us. Jaeden did a nice job. When his number was called, he made plays. We leaned heavy on our two guys on the outside. Calvin put up some big numbers for us today, created a bunch of explosive plays right from the start, long pass across the field. We leaned on those guys today with the absence of some other players."
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On the play of the offensive line: "Our o-line, they were leading the league in sacks, I know they had a few sacks today, but for the most part our offensive line did a fantastic job the entire day and stepped up when we needed them to. We weren't running the ball great but the pass protection was solid and allowed us to create a bunch of explosive plays."
How good was it to see Calvin (Ridley) get into the end zone and what did you think of his celebration today? "I didn't get a real look at the celebration, I'll have to check that out with our video guys or find it on Instagram or something like that tonight. To see him get in, I mean he works so hard. He grinds at practice; he is such a great competitor. He just is always so excited when he makes plays, so it's cool to see him do that and I am happy for him."
On the long pass to Julio (Jones) what did you see? "Just a split safety zone, where their safeties are high and wide. We had one-on-one down the middle, with a match up we liked in that situation and Julio made a great play going up and getting it. That was a big momentum shift for us, in the game, that was a huge play."
You are now in the top 10 all-time passing yards in NFL history, how does that make you feel? "It's pretty special, for sure. I have been fortunate to play for a long time and to have some success. To be mentioned with all those other guys that are up there, is special. I have always dreamed of being in the spot as a kid. To be there is good, there is a lot of work to do but when you kind of hit milestones like that, it's always more fun when you do it in a win so that you can celebrate with the guys."
On his recent dominance over the Panthers: "I can only speak for today, they are always tough to go against, there is no question about it. We were able to make the plays that we needed today, create the turnovers and get the job done, which was huge. But I know this, they are a tough team and the games are always physical; most of them don't shake out like they shook out today."
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