FLOWERY BRANCH — As soon as the ball left his right hand, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan wanted the pass back.
You could hear the excitement zip out of the Georgia Dome as Green Bay cornerback Tramon Williams broke on the ball, gathered it in and raced 70 yards for a touchdown to put the Packers ahead 28-14 as the second-quarter clock expired in the teams’ divisional playoff game Jan. 15.
Instead of being in a 21-17 dogfight, the No. 1-seeded Falcons found themselves teetering on the edge of a blowout, trailing 28-14 at the half. They would fall over the ledge in the second half on the way to a 48-21 “upset” at the hands of the No. 6-seeded Packers.
The Falcons were on the fringe of Matt Bryant’s field-goal range and were trying to get him closer with a short pass.
Ryan still wants the pass back.
The decision to get Bryant closer haunted coach Mike Smith over the offseason, too.
“I think it’s one of those things you need to learn from, especially when your last game kind of ends that way,” said Ryan, who also tossed an earlier interception in that game. “We certainly didn’t play as well as we would have liked to. But we ran into a team that was playing really well. You know, it takes a little while to get over, but you have to move past it.”
Because the playoff game turned into such a rout, it obscures that Ryan won the two previous head-to-head battles with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, and was selected to the Pro Bowl over him last season.
“I know I used it as motivation throughout the offseason,” Ryan said. “But I think you have to put it past you. That’s part of playing in this league, is you’re going to make some mistakes and you’re going to make some plays that don’t go the way you want. It’s how you respond to those types of things.”
As a rookie, Ryan led the Falcons to a 27-24 victory on Oct. 5, 2008, at Lambeau Field. Ryan completed 16 of 26 passes for 194 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He had a passer rating of 94.1. Rodgers passed for 313 yards and had a passer rating of 109.4 in that game.
Last season, the Falcons beat the Packers 20-17 on Nov. 28 at the Georgia Dome. Ryan completed 24 of 28 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. He had a passer rating of 107.9. Rodgers passed for 344 yards and had a passer rating of 114.5.
In the January game, Ryan completed 20 of 29 passes for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a passer rating of 69. Rodgers passed for 366 yards and had a passer rating of 136.8.
“We’ve played well in the two times that we’ve gotten wins against them,” Ryan said. “The first was my rookie year up there. I thought we came out and played good. Both sides of the football and special teams were really good that day.”
A common thread in the two Falcons’ victories was running back Michael Turner amassing more than 100 yards rushing. He had 121 yards in the 2008 game and 110 in last season’s regular-season matchup.
In the 2008 victory, wide receiver Roddy White had eight catches for 132 yards.
“Last year, we were very efficient,” Ryan said. “We won the turnover battle in the first game, and that’s something that’s important against a good football team.”
Over the offseason, the Falcons directly addressed the playoff scenario by mortgaging part of the 2011 and 2012 drafts to move up 21 spots to select wide receiver Julio Jones.
The Falcons want to compete if they get in another shootout. Thus far, while Jones has played well, the offense has not clicked. The offense is not ranked in the top 10 in any key categories.
Ryan should get a chance to pull things together against the Packers, who boast the 31st-ranked pass defense. They are breaking in second-year safety Morgan Burnett, and former Falcons backup safety Charlie Peprah has taken over for the injured Nick Collins.
Williams is battling a shoulder injury, and Sam Shields is a fast corner who’ll have to get physical with the Falcons’ big receivers. However, cornerback Charles Woodson has not shown any signs of slippage.
“First of all, we have to identify where certain people are at, and they do a lot of different things,” Ryan said. “[Green Bay defensive coordinator] Dom Capers does a great job of moving their guys around, trying to create confusion for an offense in identifying who is who.”
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