Falcons’ Ryan posts another impressive performance
Julio Jones started the offensive action, and everyone else joined in. Eight different receivers caught passes from quarterback Matt Ryan, leading to a 36-20 victory over Seattle.
Jones had a typical day at the office, drawing a great deal of attention from the Seahawks’ defense and being productive, collecting 67 receiving yards and a touchdown. But it was his success that gave opportunity to others.
First it was Taylor Gabriel, then it was Devonta Freeman before Mohamed Sanu Jr. finished completing 26 of Ryan’s passes, in which Ryan totaled 338 yards as many different players were able to chip in. Seattle had no true answer, as the Falcons knocked on the door of scoring another touchdown before deciding to run out the clock.
“I think we’re all an extension of one another,” Ryan said. “When Julio gets going, it opens things up for other guys. When other guys get going, it opens things up for our running backs. That’s been one of the coolest things about our offense this year, that guys are going to step up and make plays at different times during the game.”
Aside from the perimeter playmakers being impactful, Atlanta also found success in the receiving game from the running backs. Devonta Freeman led the team in receiving yards with 80, and his counterpart Tevin Coleman joined in with 22 yards and a touchdown, providing yet more weapons for the opposing defense to handle.
In Atlanta’s Week 6 matchup with Seattle, the run offense was stymied as the Falcons could only collect 50 rushing yards. Heading into the rematch nearly three months later, head coach Dan Quinn was cognizant of that and tried to implement his backfield weapons in a different way.
The running back tandem had success on the ground, as well, totaling 96 yards. Thus, the receiving production came to be more of a bonus than a necessity.
“Devonta and Tevin were definitely a factor throughout this game,” Quinn said. “The entire year, we’ve been impressed by them and their ability to catch out of the backfield. Sometimes there are matchups in man-to-man that you like, and other times it’s just that they can get out in space and create. It’s been critical to add that other receiver for our offense.”
Gabriel has been an integral part of the Falcons’ receiving corps after being claimed off of waivers from the Cleveland Browns. On Saturday, it showed yet again as he used his speed and elusiveness as a slot receiver to set-up Atlanta with red zone situations.
After finishing with 71 yards, Gabriel believes opposing defenses have trouble in their backfield due to variety of weapons that the Falcons obtain. And Atlanta was able to take advantage.
“We have so many weapons, so you have to play us honest,” Gabriel said. “You can’t just put a safety over Julio and double team him because we are so explosive that they’ll take advantage of the star and it’ll be costly. His early success helped me get open, because if we’re played one-on-one it could be a touchdown at any time.”
The Falcons now play a waiting game to see who they will face in next week’s NFC championship game, as they will draw the winner of Sunday’s game between Green Bay and Dallas.
If Green Bay is able to beat the top-seeded Cowboys, Atlanta will remain home for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. But Ryan, who leads the NFL’s top-scoring offense, has a straightforward response on the situation.
“It doesn’t matter,” Ryan said.
This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Falcons’ Ryan posts another impressive performance."