Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan unleashed a dizzying array of offense in less than two quarters before he was removed from the 45-24 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Ryan completed 6 of 9 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns to help build a 42-0 lead.
“I thought we started off as a team very fast today; offense, defense and special teams did exactly what we needed to do early on and then finished it off in the second half,” Ryan said. “We took care of the business that we wanted to today.”
Ryan got the offense in rhythm before entering the playoffs.
“We had opportunities the week before; we just didn’t make those plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we came out , we made the plays and that’s what we need to do moving forward. I think everybody’s confidence is very high heading into next week.”
Ryan was elated that the Falcons were able to get their running game untracked.
“We’re at our best when we can run the football effectively and throw the ball effectively, so it was good for us today,” Ryan said. “I thought our offensive line did a great job opening up some holes and our backs ran really, really hard and really effectively all day.”
The Falcons were 3 of 5 on their red zone opportunities against the Buccaneers: They scored two touchdowns and a field goal.
The Atlanta offense has made 59 trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line and scored points 51 times this season; they have 30 touchdowns for 273 points up close.
“That’s something that we wanted to improve on from the last couple of weeks and something we certainly have focused on, worked hard on in practice, and we finally kind of executed at the level we wanted to today on the field,” Ryan said. “So that bodes well for us heading into next week.”
The Falcons wanted to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.
“I think we just heightened awareness and focus,” Ryan said. “We’ve been very good at moving the ball, really the last half of the season, [and] we’ve moved the ball really effectively between the20s.
“Some weeks we’ve been good in the red zone, some weeks we haven’t. But I think the attention to detail when you get inside the 25, it’s heightened because the field shrinks and you have to be on top of your game, and I think everybody really has done a better job of that.”
In the final four games of the regular season, Ryan has completed 81 of 125 passes for 1,023 yards with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 116.9.
Adkins starts
Because of injuries to Stephen Nicholas (quadriceps, toe) and Mike Peterson (torn triceps), third-year player Spencer Adkins made his first NFL start and finished with three tackles.
Adkins was a sixth-round draft pick from the University of Miami in 2009.
Grimes held out
Starting left cornerback Brent Grimes was declared inactive before the game. Second-year cornerback Dominique Franks took over at his spot.
Grimes, recovering from knee surgery, did not practice on Friday and was listed as questionable on the official injury report. He played the previous Monday against the Saints
Grimes missed three games after right knee surgery but returned in last week’s loss to the Saints.
The other inactives were: John Parker Wilson, Brent Romberg, Kirk Chambers, Kerry Meirer, Cliff Matthews and Nicholas.
Smith’s record
Falcons coach Mike Smith's four-year record of 43-21 is the best four-year mark in team history and ranks among the top records in NFL history for first-time head coaches.
Smith is tied with Bill Cowher (Pittsburgh, '92-95), Mike Martz (St. Louis, '00-03), Mike Sherman (Green Bay, '00-03), and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh, '07-10) for the fourth-best four-year record among first-time head coaches.
Only George Seifert (San Francisco, '89-92), Chuck Knox (Los Angeles Rams, '73-76) and John Harbaugh (Baltimore. '08-11) recorded better records in their first four seasons.
Etc.
Fullback Mike Cox suffered a hand injury in the first quarter; he returned to the game. ... Rookie wide receiver Julio Jones caught two touchdowns in the first quarter, giving him eight touchdowns in his first season in the NFL. He set a Falcons rookie record with his 17-yard score on Atlanta's second offensive possession, breaking the previous high of six touchdown catches shared by Alfred Jenkins and Ken Mitchell.
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