The Falcons, behind strong running and fine quarterback play, defeated the Cleveland Browns 24-13 on Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Falcons improved 2-0 in the exhibition season, while Cleveland dropped to 0-2.
“There’s definitely plenty for us to focus on this week,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We’re still about the ball so for us to be minus-one in that game, we still have to get better at that.”
Here are five things we learned from the victory:
1. Ryan sharp. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had a strong performance against the Browns. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 78 yards.
“I thought he really looked sharp,” Quinn said.
On the team’s opening possession, Ryan led the offense on a 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive. He had a key completion to wide receiver Julio Jones for 20 yards on a third-and-1 from Cleveland’s 48.
After a 3-yard run by running back Tevin Coleman and a 6-yard pass to wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, running back Devonta Freeman darted to the right and scored on a 19-yard run.
Ryan’s second drive stalled, and the third drive ended with rookie Nick Rose pushing a 48-yard field-goal attempt wide left.
“We had some opportunites really on the second and third drives and we fell a little bit short,” Ryan said. “But I thought it was good. We ran the ball really well all night. Which was encouraging to see. I thought we made some plays in the pass game.”
The Falcons wanted to see the first-team offense move the ball and get Ryayn in a groove. They can check both of those boxes.
Also, Sanu, who was a key free-agent signee, caught three passes for 45 yards. He ran with authority after the catch.
“He’s definitely a physical guy,” Jones said. “He doesn’t shy away from contact. He’s aggressive. He’s got great speed and a lot of power and he showed it tonight.”
Backup quarterback Matt Schaub came in after Ryan and had another strong showing. He completed 8 of 12 passes 78 yards.
2. Freeney shaking off the rust. Veteran defensive end Dwight Freeney made his debut with the Falcons in nickel situations.
The Falcons used defensive end Brooks Reed, defensive tackles Derrick Shelby and Jonathan Babineaux and Freeney to attempt to harass Cleveland quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Freeney didn’t come up with a sack, as the line had trouble getting pressure on the mobile Griffin.
“It’s hard to get that rust off,” Freeney said. “I got about six to eight days plays. I definitely felt a little rusty, but that’s what the (exhibtion) season is for.”
3. Neal in coverage. Safety Keanu Neal made his NFL debut against the Browns.
Neal, the 17th player selected in the NFL draft, was involved in Cleveland’s second touchdown play.
He was in solid coverage against Browns tight end Gary Barnidge, but Griffin tossed a near perfect pass over Neal’s head and into the arms of Barnidge for a 29-yard touchdown.
The Falcons were hoping that Neal’s physical presence would be felt, but most plays didn’t make it back to the third level of the defense.
4. Bosher hurt. Falcons punter Matt Bosher suffered a chest injury while covering a punt in the first quarter. He was hit away from the ball by Cleveland linebacker Tank Carder in the chest.
He didn’t return to the game.
The Falcons already were playing without kicker Matt Bryant, who had some tightness in his leg. With Bosher and Bryant down, all of the punting and kicking duties went to Rose.
On his first and only punt, Rose booted the ball 16 yards.
5. Linebacker shuffle. Rookies Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell started at middle linebacker and weakside linebacker, respectively.
Jones was a bit eager and missed a tackle of Cleveland running back Isaiah Crowell on the first play of the game.
“It’s looked like we had a couple of missed tackles,” Quinn said. “One early on we saw with Deion. This is the experience they need. They need to play quarters and get in the action.”
Jones, the team’s second-round draft pick, has quickly picked up the defense and was calling signals. Campbell has dazzled with his athleticism.
“On the sideline, you could hear them saying, ‘this is what I could have done differently,’ ” Quinn said. “That’s what you hope to (hear) from them and that’s what it was tonight.”
