The Falcons went into Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers as a bit of an underdog due to the fact that the Chargers had lost four of their seven games within the last 30 seconds. But from start to finish the Falcons dominated, and it was all thanks to stellar defense and consistent play from quarterback Matt Ryan. It was a situation, again, where he was rarely hit and came up with key third-down conversions when needed. He ended the day with 207 passing yards and two touchdowns as the Falcons won 22-16.
Once again, Ryan was able to find his favorite target Roddy White, who had six receptions and 112 yards. But he also got tight end Justin Peelle involved, as he tallied 38 receiving yards and one touchdown. Harry Douglas caught the second Ryan touchdown. This is exactly what Ryan wanted to do in this game: get the No. 1 receiver involved, but get other receivers going as well. But Ryan probably would not have been able to get anything going if Michael Turner didn’t rush for 120 yards and kept the chains moving. The only mistake that the offense made was getting stopped on fourth-and-goal at the Chargers’ 1-yard line late in the second half. But it did not faze Ryan and the offense, as they went on to rack up 348 total yards while the Chargers only came up with 201.
So what does this mean for Ryan? Is he the clear-cut favorite for Rookie of the Year? Is he an MVP candidate? Could he be a Pro Bowler? I think that the next four games will determine the answers to those questions, because if the Falcons reach the playoffs or win the division, he should be Rookie of the Year, a solid MVP candidate, and he should be playing in Hawaii. Their next game is against the New Orleans Saints, and the last time the Falcons played against their divisional opponent Ryan threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns. He should put up similar numbers the second time around because the Saints defense has struggled as of late. Ryan played another solid game where he made no mistakes. It’s safe to say that he’s not just a rookie quarterback; he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league today.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
Loading ...
