FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons’ plan to add more "explosive" plays appears to be paying off.
Last season, the Falcons had only 32 pass plays of 20 yards or more -- the team's definition of an explosive play -- which was 31st in the league. They had just six plays of 40 yards or more last season, which ranked 22nd.
Through 13 games, they have 46 pass plays of 20 yards or more, which ranks ninth overall in the league. Quarterback Matt Ryan has eight plays that have gone for 40 yards or more, which ranks him tied for eighth in the league.
The Falcons used two explosive plays from key additions to fuel their 24-0 second-half rally in the 31-23 win over Carolina on Sunday. Julio Jones had a 75-yard touchdown catch and running back Jacquizz Rodgers had a 31-yarder for a score.
"The rookies are just some more weapons that we are trying to add to this team to get us to the next level," running back Michael Turner said. "They came up and played big. They did a great job scoring touchdowns. That's what we needed and they came through in a critical situation."
Overall, the Falcons have 55 plays – including nine runs -- of 20 yards or more.
Wide receiver Roddy White leads the team with 13 explosive plays. Turner, Jones and wide receiver Harry Douglas each have 10.
"We like to think we can move the ball on anybody," said tight end Tony Gonzalez, who has eight explosive plays.
Rodgers' touchdown catch against Carolina was the first time Ryan had thrown to him down the field.
“We knew when we kind of rolled out of the pocket, they kind of lost touch with the running back,” Ryan said. “To be honest with you, they covered him pretty well. They had the linebacker back there pretty deep. ‘Quizz' did a great job of running to that spot and I just tried to put it up out there. He made a great catch.”
Nicholas returns to practice
Linebacker Stephen Nicholas, who missed the last two games with a quadriceps injury, returned to practice on Monday.
"It was good to see Stephen Nicholas back out," Falcons coach Mike Smith said.
Kelvin Hayden (dislocated toe), Brent Grimes (knee), Will Svitek (groin), Jonathan Babineaux (ankle), Turner (groin), Douglas (groin) and Jones (groin) did not practice. Also, Matt Bryant did not practice because of a non-injury related matter.
Turner goes over 1,000
With 76 yards on 21 carries, Turner went over the 1,000-yard mark for the third time over the last four seasons. He has 1,068 yards, which is third in the league behind Jacksonville's Maurice Jones-Drew (1,222) and Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy (1,172).
Bouncing back
Ryan posted his 16th comeback in the fourth quarter or overtime against the Panthers, and his teammates were all on board with it.
“It was just a matter of how we wanted to look on the field because we were looking pretty pathetic in the first half,” Turner said. “We knew we couldn’t go out like that. We knew we had something to fight for. We had to remind everybody that our goals were still in front of us. We just couldn’t let it lay out there on the field like that. If we were going to go out, we were going to go out fighting.”
Earlier in the season, the Falcons came back in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia and Carolina.
“I’ve been involved in some crazy games, but this goes down as one of the craziest games,” Turner said. “It felt like two totally different teams out there.”
White goes over 500
White caught seven passes for 84 yards against the Panthers and went over the 500-catch mark for his career. He now has 505 career receptions and trails Terance Mathis (573) for the club's all-time lead.
Etc.
Ryan's 75-yarder to Jones enabled him to tie a career high with four touchdown passes and moved him into second place in team history with 89 career touchdowns. Ryan passed Chris Chandler and Chris Miller, who each tossed 87 touchdowns during their Falcons' careers. Steve Bartkowski is the leader with 154 touchdown passes. ... Ryan has thrown at least one touchdown in 12 consecutive games, and in 27 of his last 28 games. ... Linebacker Mike Peterson's interception of Cam Newton's third-quarter pass was the 19th of his career.
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