The “road” Falcons showed up in Indianapolis.
They fell behind 20-3, were called for a bunch of penalties, committed another gross turnover and then tried to rally.
The Falcons came up short as the defense had two opportunities to get the late-arriving offense the ball back, but could not.
One of the interesting stats was Calvin Ridley catching his only target, for 6 yards. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter had two targets for Ridley, while the gamebook had him down for the one.
“We did a good job of spreading the ball around with one exception,” Koetter said. “We have to get Calvin Ridley more involved. ... That has absolutely nothing to do with how he’s playing. That guy is playing awesome in practice, but that hasn’t been the case the first two games.”
The Falcons plan to get Ridley more involved against the Titans.
“In this game we have to find some ways to get Ridley involved,” Koetter said. “That’s my job. I have to do a better job of that.”
Koetter then broke down what happened against the Colts.
“It really had nothing to do with what he did,” Koetter said. “They were playing a lot of Cover 2 (zone). In essence, they were doubling both of our outside guys. Usually your Z receiver plays to the wide side of the field and your X receiver plays more to short side of the field in your formation. If everything is balanced, it’s a little easier to work the short side of the field. That was were Julio (Jones was), and we did that a lot.”
Ryan completed 22 of 23 passes in the second half as he worked the middle of the field, the soft spot in the Cover 2.
“Rid was open on some of the same balls we threw to Julio on some of those third downs,” Koetter said. “We had mirrored routes, with Rid on the other side. It’s just a matter or working with short side of the field verses the wide side.”
Koetter has a plan to free up Ridley.
“So, what we can do to help that out, not so much on third down, but on first and second down, we can formation some things where Rid gets more in a featured role,” Koetter said. “It’s worked well in the first two games where he had 10 targets in both games. It just did not work out very well this game.”
The grades
Run offense: One of the bright spots was the play of running back Devonta Freeman. On the Falcons' first play from scrimmage, Freeman darted up the middle for a 28-yard gain. He finished with 88 yards rushing on 16 carries. He caught three of his four targets in the passing game for seven yards. "It felt good — just the opportunity and to have those opportunities to make plays," Freeman said. "We just got to finish strong and be able to close out the game." The Falcons were pleased with Freeman's production against the Colts. Three games into the season, there is reason for optimism. Running backs Ito Smith and Kenjon Barner both suffered concussions in the game. Overall, the Falcons rushed 20 times for 93 yards for a strong 4.7 average per carry. Grade: B
Pass offense: Ryan completed 29 of 34 passes for 304 yards, three touchdowns and one untimely interception. He had a passer rating on 121.1. Tight end Austin Hooper caught six of seven targets for 75 yards and had his first two TD game. Julio Jones had his 51st 100-yard receiving game as he had eight catches for 128 yards and on TD catch. Ryan's interception was turned into a field goal, which was the winning margin. Grade: B-minus
Run defense: The Falcons held the Colts to 79 yards rushing. Marlon Mack rushed 16 times for 74 yards. With the game on the line, the Colts were able to run the ball and run out the clock. Mack broke loose for a demoralizing 26-yard gain on a second-and-6 with 2:36 left in the game. Linebacker Deion Jones led the defense with nine tackles. Grade: B-plus
Pass defense: With the Falcons overly concerned about the run, quarterback Jacoby Brissett had a strong day passing off of bootlegs and rollouts. He completed 28 of 37 passes for 310 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 118.1. After the Falcons cut the lead to 20-17, the defense had a stop on third-and-10, but nickel back Damontae Kazee was called for defensive holding. Four plays later, the Colts scored a touchdown. Brissett had a relatively clean pocket to work from for most of the day. The Falcons had just one sack and five quarterback hits. He completed passes to nine receivers. "They had a good scheme," said defensive end Vic Beasley, who shared half of a sack with Takk McKinley. "They tried to establish the run. They wanted you to bite on the run and then they threw the play action in there." Grade: D
Special teams: Punter Matt Wile punt once for 39 yards. He also did a good job of holding on Matt Bryant's kicks. Wile also handled the kickoffs and had four touchbacks. Speedy Colts receiver Parris Campbell had one return of 31 yards against the kickoff coverage team Grade: B
Coaching: The Falcons weren't ready to play on the road again. They have now been outscored 41-3 in the first half on the road this season. The 16 penalties for 128 yards do not reflect well on the coaching staff. The Falcons did rally, but the defense, playing late without defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, could not get the offense the ball back. "If there's a penalty or something that's been repeated, 'Hey, man, this is something we've already addressed and talked through,' " Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. "You want to make sure, player to player, is there something to share and experience to learn? We're fortunate that we have some veterans, for an example, (Desmond) Trufant, to get over to Isaiah (Oliver) to say, 'Hey, man, I've been in that spot, and here's why they've called what they've called.' Sometimes leaning on one of your teammates in that space is good." Grade: D
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