Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is coming off a three-interception game and will be on the hot seat when the Falcons and Buccaneers meet at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ryan has played in 212 NFL games (202 regular-season and 10 playoff games, including Super Bowl LI) and has thrown three or more interceptions in only 11 games.
He threw a career-high five interceptions in a 23-19 win over Arizona on Nov. 18, 2012. One of his three-plus interception games came against Arizona the following season when Todd Bowles was the defensive coordinator.
Bowles, who started his coaching career at Morehouse in 1997 as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach, is Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator.
Ryan tossed four interceptions against the Cardinals in a 27-13 loss on Oct. 27, 2013.
The Bucs plan to shut down the Falcons’ anemic rushing attack and then attack Ryan and force him into some bad throws.
“That’s a well-oiled machine on defense, run by Todd Bowles and those guys coaching them,” Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris said. “They do a great job.”
The Bucs have blitzed 213 times (38.4%), second-most in the league. The Bucs, who are tied for fourth in the league with 40 sacks, feasted on the Falcons’ blocking woes last season, recording 12 sacks and 28 quarterback hits in two games.
“Todd Bowles is an aggressive defensive play caller,” Ryan said. “They stress you snap-in and-snap out to be on top of your scheme and on top of your pass protection. We have to do a great job of that (against the Bucs).”
While the Bucs are fighting for a playoff berth, the Falcons are playing out the season. Ryan doesn’t believe motivation will be an issue.
“This is the National Football League. You have to show up week-in and week-out regardless of what’s going on and be ready to go,” Ryan said. “I don’t think you need to look much farther than that. I don’t think motivation or ‘want-to’ is going to be an issue. Our team has always done a nice job with that.”
While they could hurt their draft positioning, the Falcons are playing to win.
“It’s about winning and finding a way to get the job done offensively against a very good defense,” Ryan said. “However, we’ve got to do it, whatever we’ve got to do, that’s really the only goal that matters, is to go out there and find a way to get the win.”
Falcons’ final three games
Buccaneers at Falcons at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 20
Falcons at Chiefs at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 27
Falcons at Buccaneers at 1 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 3
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