The Falcons earned their win under coach Arthur Smith, a 17-14 win over the New York Giants Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Here at the highlights:
Play of the game: Younghoe Koo kicked his longest field of the season, a 40-yard game winner as time expired.
Offensive game ball: Rookie tight end Kyle Pitts came up with two catches and a pass interference call that helped set up the game-tying touchdown and the game-winning field goal. He finished with 2 catches off 3 targets for 35 yards.
Defensive game ball: Falcons outside linebacker Dante Fowler collected his second sack of the season, forcing quarterback Daniel Jones to fumble. The Giants recovered the ball but were pushed back 9 yards halting a potential scoring opportunity with two minutes left. The Giants punted and Atlanta won on the ensuing drive.
Key stats: A close inspection of the box score would not reveal clues of a Falcons win. Atlanta trailed New York in almost every offensive statistical category:
- 227 passing yards vs. 246
- 69 rushing yards vs. 100
- 18 first downs vs. 21
- 5-of-13 (38%) third-down conversions vs. 7-of-14 (50%)
- 28:09 vs. 31:51 time of possession.
Biggest takeaway: Matt Ryan is still clutch. The Falcons quarterback (27-of-36 for 243 yards and 2 TDs) engineered the 31st fourth-quarter comeback and 39th game-winning drive of his career. Trailing by a touchdown in the fourth, Ryan capped off a 15-play, 72 yard drive that took 8:40 off the clock with a 1-yard touchdown throw to tight end Lee Smith to tie the game. On the team’s next drive with 1 minute, 50 seconds left, Ryan completed passes of 28 and 25 yards to set up Koo’s game-winning boot from the New York 40 as time expired.
History: With a 4-yard toss to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus in the first half, Ryan became the 10th quarterback to reach the 350-career-touchdown mark.
They said it: “We definitely had some fight (left) to get the ball back at the end. We have to get them off the field a little faster, but when it counted we stepped up and got the offense the ball back.” - Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (who collected his first sack of the season)
Next up: Falcons (1-2) host the Washington Football Team (1-2) for a 1 p.m. meeting Sunday, Oct. 3, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta has won six straight against Washington, which has been helmed by backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke — who played high school football at Collins Hill in Gwinnett — with starter Ryan Fitzpatrick out with a hip injury.
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