Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is set to face the Green Bay Packers for the third time over the past 11 months.
The Falcons won the last two meetings including a regular-season matchup, 33-32 on Oct. 30, 2016, and in the NFC Championship game, 44-21, on Jan. 22, 2017.
“Every opportunity is a different one,” Ryan said. “That’s what I’ve learned throughout my career. Even when you play the same team twice in the same season, the game is different. It always shakes out differently.”
The Packers are healthier then when they faced the Falcons in the NFC title match. They also started five new players on defense in their season-opening win over Seattle.
“They’ve got some different guys on their side,” Ryan said. “We have got a few different guys on our side. I think they are really healthy. We’re pretty healthy. We’ll take a look at what we did against them last year, but we’ll expect some wrinkles here and there as well.”
The Falcons scored only 23 points in the season-opening win against the Bears after averaging 34 over the course of last season.
“We are a work in progress right now for sure,” Ryan said. “I think we are working hard on the practice field.”
Ryan also believes that the new starting right guard, Wes Schweitzer, will play much better against the Packers after a bumpy outing against the Bears.
“Wes will be fine,” Ryan said. “I think we all had a few plays that we’d like back for sure. Everybody. Year one. Year 10. Or, first start. There are 100 plays out there. There are a few plays in every game that you’d like to do differently.
“He had a lot of good plays too against a very good front. I think he’ll be ready. He’s worked hard. He’s ready for this opportunity. He’s a guy that prepares really hard every week. I expect him to go out there and play well Sunday.”
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