In a spirited effort to rally his Falcons teammates, Matt Ryan refused to step out of bounds or slide as is the custom for quarterbacks. Instead, Ryan lowered his shoulder and smashed into Redskins safety Kyshoen Jarrett.
Except that’s really not what happened.
“I thought I was closer to the first down than I actually was,” Ryan said, smiling. “I thought I was going to get it and it turns out I was a couple yards short.”
The Falcons trailed 16-12 in the final two minutes of regulation on Sunday when Ryan scrambled for an eight-yard run on first-and-10. They would score the go-ahead touchdown three plays later with 30 seconds left, only to see the Redskins tie the game and force overtime. The Falcons won on Robert Alford’s interception return for a touchdown.
Ryan’s run fired up the Georgia Dome crowd and excited his teammates but that wasn’t by design. It’s not a prudent decision for the star quarterback to initiate unnecessary contact.
“I probably made an error in judgment,” he said. “It happens.”
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