Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had a fine showing in his exhibition season debut in a 22-10 loss to the New York Jets on Thursday before a sparse crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I though early on, although there were a few drops, I thought Matt, with his first action, was able to slide in the pocket and make some completions,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.
Ryan played in four offensive series and went into the second quarter. Ryan, a former league MVP who’s set to enter his 12th season in the NFL, did not play in previous exhibition games against the Broncos and Dolphins.
The defeat was Atlanta’s 11th consecutive exhibition loss dating back to 2016. The Falcons host Washington at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday.
Ryan led the Falcons to two field-goal attempts and two punts. The Falcons opened with a missed field, followed by two punts and then a made field goal.
Ryan missed his first pass attempt and then connected on nine straight. He was victimized by three dropped passes including two in the end zone by running back Brian Hill and wide receiver Justin Hardy.
Overall, Ryan completed 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards and finished with a passer rating of 96.7.
Playing against Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Ryan and the first-team offensive line faced a lot of blitz packages for an exhibition game. Williams, most known for his role in the bounty-gate scandal will in New Orleans, even sent a safety blitz.
The Falcons revamped offensive line had trouble as Ryan was sacked three times for minus 19 yards.
Running back Devonta Freeman, who played in just two games last season, returned to action. He had one carry for 2 yards, playing just one series.
While the running game was shaky and the first-team defense was cut up by Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, the most pressing issue may be at placekicker.
Giorgio Tavecchio woefully missed a 52-yard field goal after the team’s opening drive stalled at the Jets’ 34-yard line. Some contend the kick was tipped. He made a 24-yard field goal in the second quarter before missing another 52-yard attempt, wide left, in the third quarter.
It was Tavecchio’s second and third miss of the exhibition season.
“The second one, when I hit it I was like, ‘Nice!’ That’s what I wanted to feel. ... I struck the ball the way I wanted to, and then most of the time when you look up it’s going down the middle,” Tavecchio said. “That one, I looked up and it kind of stayed down the hatch. That’s how it goes sometimes.”
He also missed a 54-yard field-goal attempt in the exhibition opener against the Broncos on Aug. 1.
Tavecchio is attempting to replace the dependable Matt Bryant.
Tavecchio made all five of his field-goal attempts in part-time duty with the Falcons last season, including 50 and 56-yarders in a 23-20 victory over the Giants. The 28-year-old is stumbling as he tries to replace Bryant, who had 250 field goals in 10 seasons with the Falcons.
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