Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan set the franchise record for the highest completion percentage in the 56-14 rout of Tampa Bay on Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.
Shaking off a dismal showing in Cincinnati, he completed 21 of 24 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns. The completion percent of 87.5 is the new team-record.
Ryan and the offense was clicking from the start.
They opened the game with six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive.
“Even as good as tonight was, I think there were areas where we can improve and get better,” said Ryan, ever the perfectionist. “But all in all, it was a pretty good effort. We had good energy.”
The Falcons scored on six of the nine possessions that Ryan directed. Two drives were stalled by fumbles as the Falcons were forced to punt just once with Ryan at the controls.
“That’s the goal of the offense, to try and score every time that we have the ball,” Ryan said. “Tonight we need a pretty good job of putting up some points.”
The offense amassed 488 yards after being held to 309 yards last week by the Bengals.
The passing attack was added by the rushing attack which amassed 144 yards on 36 rushes. Running back Steven Jackson finished with 54 yards rushing on 14 carries and had a 2-yard touchdown run where he powered through several defenders.
The Falcons felt they set the tone with the opening touchdowns drive.
“The opening drive was everything,” Hawley said. “We set the tempo offensively. We got a good rhythm. That’s what we struggled with last week was getting into a rhythm. We ran the ball, passed the ball and really set the tone for the whole game.”
Ryan completed passes to nine different receivers, with wide receiver Julio Jones catching nine of 11 targeted passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
Sack totals: Entering the third week of the season, the Falcons were the only team in the league without a sack.
Defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi recorded the team’s first sack of the season with 5:49 left in the second quarter. Defensive tackle Corey Peters and defensive end Stansly Maponga added sacks later.
“We’ve been hearing a lot about it,” Peters said. “(Defensive line) coach (Bryan) Cox has been really on us about pushing the pocket and rushing. I feel that tonight was a great start; we still need to improve and get better.”
“The pass rush is an area whether if its (Kroy Biermann) or Maponga or anyone that plays defensive end, we need to get more production out of that (position),” defensive coordinator Mike Nolan said. “That’s what obvious from our first two games. We’ve had low production.
Peters has strong game: Peters, who is coming back from Achilles surgery, had his strongest game of the season.
He didn’t play in the opener and was a non-factor against the Bengal in the second game.
In addition to the sack, he had four tackles for losses and two quarterback hits.
“It’s been crazy, a lot of ups and downs,” Peters said. “When it initially happened, there were a lot of doubts. The Achilles is a tricky thing, you just never know.
“Nonetheless, I feel great. I feel 100 percent and tonight I did exactly what I wanted to do with it being my first home game back.”
Turnover battle: The Falcons won the turnover battle, 5-4.
“We have to make some plays,” Nolan said. “We don’t have anybody on defense at this point that is playing at a high level. I think they all would say that they want to play better than they’ve played. Some have played better than others, don’t get me wrong. But I think to a man, they want to play better.”
Douglas injured: Harry Douglas left Thursday night's game against the Buccaneers with a left foot injury. The team announced his return was questionable.
The wide receiver was injured in the second quarter on a downfield route. He had to be helped off the field and was immediately taken to the locker room. He initially appeared unable to put any weight on the foot.
Douglas had two catches for 14 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter to open the scoring. Douglas’ reception capped a six-play, 70 yard opening drive that culminated with the score just 2:57 into the game.
White held out: Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, who did not practice all week with hamstring injury, was listed on the official injury report as questionable was declared out for the game and will be on the inactive list.
Wide receiver Julio Jones (ankle), linebacker Prince Shembo (knee) and left tackle Jake Matthews (ankle) were listed on the injury report as probable and are active.
White, 32, a four-time Pro Bowler, didn’t miss a game in his first eight NFL seasons.
Last season White was slowed by a high ankle sprain and a hamstring injury and missed three games.
This will be only the fourth game he’s missed over his 10-year.
The other players declared inactive include: quarterback Sean Renfree, cornerback Javier Arenas, linebacker Tyler Starr, center Jeff Stone, tackle Ryan Schraeder and defensive tackle Cliff Matthews.
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