Despite it being just the eighth game of the season, the Atlanta Falcons were in must-win mode heading into a home matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
Things were starting to look gloomy after back-to-back heartbreaking losses to the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers and a loss to the Packers might have sent this team into a point of no return.
The defensive performance was downright bad. The penalty flags were flying like no tomorrow and the Georgia Dome had way too many Packers’ fans in the seats, but all of that was forgotten when Matt Ryan found Mohamed Sanu in the back of the end zone with 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The touchdown put the Falcons up 33-32 and the defense some how kept Aaron Rodgers in check and forced an incomplete pass on fourth down to clinch the game. The win keeps them in a comfortable spot atop the NFC South division with a record of 5-3 heading into a Thursday night game with the second place Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Here are the week eight takeaways.
Atlanta Falcons Week Eight Takeaways
Matt Ryan does in fact have ice running through his veins
With just under four minutes remaining in the game and trailing 32-26, Ryan marched the Falcons 75 yards capped off by a touchdown pass to Sanu to pick up his league-leading 32nd game-winning drive since 2008. Ryan completed nine of 11 on that final drive for 75 yards. He linked up with Sanu five times for 50 yards and converted two third downs as well. It was as good as it gets for Ryan.
All-in-all, the Falcons signal caller threw for 288 yards on 28 of 35 passing and threw three touchdown passes. Ryan spread the ball around very nicely. Eight different receivers caught at least one pass, and every receiver but one had at least one reception of ten or more yards. Ryan continues to lead the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes and is on pace for 5,272 yards for the season which would be the third-most all-time. There isn’t a player more deserving of the league MVP award at the midway point of the season.
The defense struggles mightily
It was a very forgettable performance by the Falcons’ defense against Green Bay. Rodgers had his way en route to 246 yards passing and four touchdown passes. He also rushed for a career-high 60 yards which was nearly double the amount that Devonta Freeman finished with (35). Atlanta missed a ton of tackles and allowed Green Bay to convert six of nine on third down before the final drive of the game. However, the defense did manage three sacks and forced Rodgers to misfire on a fourth down conversion attempt with less than 30 seconds to go in the game. Atlanta ran a lot of soft zone coverage that did not work out the way that had hoped. Look for the Falcons to run more man-to-man against Tampa Bay on Thursday night.
Julio Jones wasn’t needed
With the game on the line, Ryan didn’t need Julio Jones. He instead favorited Sanu and it worked out just fine. Jones finished with just three catches for 29 yards and wasn’t very effective after aggravating his knee in the first half. Jones was used as a decoy throughout the game more than anything. And when you’re the best receiver in the league, being a decoy is more than enough to help your quarterback find other receivers. Just having Jones out on the field makes Ryan’s job a lot easier and that was clear as day in this game.
Matt Bryant sets franchise points record
The Atlanta Falcons have had a lot of great field goal kickers in the history of their franchise, from Morten Anderson to Mick Luckhurst to Jay Feely and now Matt Bryant. Bryant passed Anderson for first all-time in points scored in Falcons’ history with 807 and now is just six made field goals away from setting that record as well. Ryan wasn’t the only man named Matt to have a history book type performance against the Packers.
The Falcons need Tevin Coleman back
Tevin Coleman missed his first game of 2016 with a hamstring injury and it definitely had a major impact on the Falcons’ running game. Freeman rushed for just 35 yards and Terron Ward added 46. But with Coleman sidelined, the Falcons lacked a quick-strike running back they might have come in handy against the Packers. Coleman has a solid shot at playing in Thursday night’s game against Tampa Bay and that would be very helpful if he is a go.
