Matt Ryan’s NFL-record streak of 64 games of passing for 200 yards or more was snapped in the Falcons’ 34-31 win over the Seahawks on Monday night.
No big deal.
“I’d rather have less than 200 yards and win than to get 200 yards and lose,” Ryan said.
Ryan completed 19 of 27 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the important victory. He finished with a passer rating of 115.5, his second highest rating of the season. He had a season-high 116.1 rating in the season-opening win over the Bears.
Wide receiver Julio Jones said the streak shows what a special quarterback Ryan has been for the Falcons.
"I didn't know it," Jones said of the streak. "I guess it was something for him to come and go out there and sling the ball around like that. A lot of times people don't look at things like that and it just goes over your head, but he's special. He's special, and he's been doing it for so long."
Ryan was elated that the offense performed on third downs against a rowdy Seattle defense, which was missing cornerback Richard Sherman (injured reserve with an Achilles injury) and strong safety Kam Chancellor (inactive with a stinger/neck injury). The Falcons converted on 9 of 14 third-down plays (64 percent), as Ryan said they took advantage of man-to-man coverage.
The biggest third-down conversion came in the fourth quarter. On third-and-6 from the Falcons’ 42-yard line, Ryan lofted a nice pass to Jones under pressure for a 29-yard gain with 7:07 to play. The conversion kept the drive alive and took more time off the clock. The Falcons made a 19-yard field goal to make it a needed two-score game with 3:49 to play.
“It was a really good call at the time by (offensive coordinator Steve) Sarkisian tonight,” Ryan said. “We had a really good concept on the left, and we knew we had one-on-one and an opportunity to throw it down the field to Julio. I tried to hold the safety in the middle of the field so that it was just really Julio and the cornerback on an island. Julio made a great play.”
The Falcons held on, but not before sweating out a 52-yard field-goal attempt by Blair Walsh that was short with two seconds remaining.
Ryan also was operating the offense without running back Devonta Freeman, who’s in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
The run blocking wasn’t up to par, as the Seahawks stuffed running backs Tevin Coleman and Terron Ward for most of the game.
“It’s tough to replace (Devonta) Freeman,” Ryan said. “Or to not have him. But we have so much depth at our running back position. We trust our other guys to step in. It always hurts to not have him because he’s so talented. I thought Tevin did a nice job. I thought Terron (Ward) came in and played really well for us.”
Coleman had a rushing touchdown, but was held to 43 yards rushing on 20 carries. Ward added 31 yards on six carries.
Ward had a strong 17-yard run, and Coleman nearly scored on a gritty 2-yard run on the key field goal drive in the fourth quarter .
Ryan expected the difficulty in the run game against Seattle’s defense.
“That’s one of the things going against this defense and the way that they play, with eight man spacing in the box the entire game, you have to stay disciplined with it,” Ryan said. “You have to keep running the ball and you’ve got to execute at a high level on every snap when you do it because if you don’t you are going to have some tackles for losses.
“But when you do, there are opportunities to get behind their front seven and get into the secondary. I thought our guys did a good job of that in the second half.”
Ryan got another big completiton when he found tight end Levine Toilolo for a touchdown. Toilolo slipped behind the secondary for a 25-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter to give the Falcons a 31-20 lead and a winning margin.
“Great job by Levine with getting into the back of the defense with some action going to the right,” Ryan said. “That was critical for us at a huge time in the game to come away with a touchdown.”
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