Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan made several horrible decisions in the 20-17 win over the Saints on Thursday.
He completed 15 of 27 passes for 221 yards. He threw for one touchdown but also had three interceptions. He finished with a passer rating of 55.2, which was his lowest in 39 games.
He had a 55.1 passer rating in a 25-19 win over Washington on Oct. 11, 2015. He completed 24 of 42 passes for 254 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions in that game.
Here’s what Ryan had to say after the game:
On how he felt after tonight's win:
"I feel good. We got the job done. Obviously, it was an up-and-down game. It was a battle, for sure. We made some mistakes. We were able to overcome them. But good teams find ways to win and that's what I thought we did tonight. Our defense stepped up and played extremely well. I think New Orleans has been averaging 30-plus points a game. For our defense to step up and play the way they did tonight was impressive. I thought our offensive line played extremely well. We ran the ball efficiently. We ran it physically. I'm just proud of the way the guys competed for four quarters and got the job done. Great play by Deion Jones at the end of the game."
On whether he saw Deion Jones' interception on the screen:
"I was standing on the side. I had a good angle of it. I was kind of standing at the far end of the sideline watching it. That's one of those plays as a quarterback where you want to be aggressive and give your guys an opportunity to make a play in that red zone, but Jones is a special player. I think he's going to be a guy that a lot of people know about for a long time. He's a really good player and made a great play right there."
On what caused his interceptions:
"I think the first interception was a bad play. In that situation, where we're at on the field, I've got to throw the football away. I thought he was getting held. I thought we'd get an opportunity for a call, but I've got to be better than that and throw the ball away. At the beginning of the second half, those happen. Sometimes those physical mistakes happen. Then on the third in the end zone, you want to give Julio opportunities. I didn't throw the ball nearly high enough where it needed to be and I've got to make a better decision in that situation to know we have three points on the board. I'm disappointed in a couple of plays, but that's part of it. Sometimes it goes that way, and you've got to keep battling and keep your mindset right. I was pleased with how I did that, and I was pleased with how our entire team did that."
On how he moves to the next play after an interception:
"I've had worse games. Yeah, I've thrown five before. I think it comes with experience. I think that comes with confidence and belief in yourself. Sometimes that's how it goes. That's the case in all sports. There are nights that are like that, but those don't define the outcome of the game. How you respond to those situations defines who you are as a player and who you are as a team. I thought that was critical for us as a team tonight to be able to respond on both sides of the ball. To make plays and to just gut it out and find a way to win."
On how the run game brought the offense back on track:
"I thought our offensive line did a great job the entire game, but specifically in the second half we ran the ball effectively. Our running backs ran hard. Very physical. They did a great job. Our wide receivers were blocking hard on the outside and that's the reason we won. We were able to move the ball very effectively on the ground and that's a big reason why we won tonight."
On what he learned from this game:
"We'll look at the film and take a look at some of the things we did well, some of the things we didn't do well, how they played us and make certain adjustments in a couple of weeks. But, I'm looking forward to next week. At this point, this time of the year, all that matters is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 10 or 11 days. We'll get to the Saints in two weeks."
On whether this was a must-win game:
"Luckily, we don't have to figure that out. I don't know. Obviously winning is much better than losing."
On whether the strong run game helped his confidence after the interceptions:
"The run game is always good, picks or no picks. Running the football is always a good thing for an offense. It helped us tonight. That's for sure. I thought our offensive line did a great job. The running backs ran hard and it was a big reason why we won the game."
On the offense controlling the clock throughout the game:
"I thought we moved the ball really well the entire night. We had a couple of turnovers that kind of got us off schedule and we should have come away with more points in those situations. But, it's huge. Their offense is prolific and very good. I thought our defense did an excellent job the entire night battling and making plays. But, it's always good to have it. It's always good to possess it. They can't score when you've got the ball."
