Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has a reputation in the NFL for snatching victories from the jaws of defeat with his late-game heroics.
But after throwing two late-game interceptions in consecutive weeks, it’s reasonable to ponder if the player nicknamed “Matty Ice” for his calmness under pressure has lost his cool hand in the fourth quarter.
“It’s disappointing,” Ryan said Wednesday. “But it happens. When you play in this league long enough, there is going to be situations that you don’t walk away with the outcome that you want. But again, it’s a long year, there are peaks and valleys through every season.”
Ryan has led the Falcons on 32 game-winning drives. He’s also posted 24 comeback wins over his nine seasons in the NFL.
But with late leads against Seattle and San Diego, Ryan couldn’t close the deal.
With the Falcons holding a 24-23 lead against Seattle, Ryan’s pass to Julio Jones was too far out in front of the All-Pro wide receiver. Jones got his hands on the errant pass, but he couldn’t catch it.
Seattle defensive back Richard Sherman popped it up with his elbow, and free safety Earl Thomas made the interception with 3:47 to play.
Against San Diego, the Falcons were up 30-27 and were trying to run the final 5:59 off the clock. They drove to the Chargers’ 40-yard line, but back-to-back false-start penalties on left guard Andy Levitre and right tackle Ryan Schraeder pushed them back to the 50.
On first-down and 20, the Falcons were aggressive in trying to make up the penalty yards. Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman peeled off his route and jumped Jones’ route to make an interception with 3:32 left. The Chargers tied the score and forced overtime.
The Falcons have vowed to continue to let Ryan make plays.
“If you have that fastball, you throw that fast ball,” Quinn said.
Against the Chargers, the penalties threw the offense off track.
“The bigger one for us is, let’s make sure that we are really tight with what we are doing,” Quinn said. “We had some fouls last week that for sure set us back. That part, I know we can control.”
Just because things haven’t gone well late over the past two games, the Falcons are not going into a shell.
“We do have belief in the guys,” Quinn said. “They are playing really well for a reason. They now how to let it rip. They know the looks that they are going to get, so we are going to continue to play it that way.”
Packers coach Mike McCarthy doesn’t expect to see a gun-shy Ryan.
“I think more than anything, it starts up front and with the quarterback Matt Ryan,” McCarthy said. “Matt is playing great football right now. His numbers are outstanding. When you look at the offensive line, in particular the core, the center and the two guards, you’ve got good veteran leadership. The tackles are playing very well.”
Jones expects Ryan to shake off those two late-game interceptions. He’s thrown only six this season.
“It just shows that he’s a consistent quarterback,” Jones said. “He does a great job for us, and he leads the team for us. He makes great decisions for us.”
The Falcons know how close they are to being 6-1 as opposed to 4-3. The late-game tipped pass, the interceptions and the penalties are obstacles that kept them from winning.
“That stuff is going to come,” Jones said. “We can control it, but when it happens, it happens. We overcame it in the past. We just have to keep working. There were some setbacks for us, we just have to erase those and keep pushing.”
Over his career, Ryan has pulled shown his worth in clutch situations.
“Those are money situations,” Jones said. “We are going to be aggressive. We are going to stay aggressive. We want to be a great attacking team. That’s what we have to do, we have to stay aggressive.”
Jones believes the team’s psyche is fine.
“It’s all about just staying together and staying positive,” Jones said. “You are going to have ups and downs. We just have to stay together as a brotherhood and get over this hump together.”
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