Here’s what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to say after the 34-29 win over the Bucs on Sunday:
On how he feels about the win: "Feels good. Obviously, we put in the hard work during the week and prepared ourselves in order to get a win. It feels good. It was hard fought, obviously, division games are always going to be like that. I'm proud of the way that the guys battled and competed for four quarters."
On what was working for him during the first half of the game: "I thought we started fast and came out and were able to kind of use a lot of different facets of our pass game, whether it be screens, whether it be play-action pass, just drop back, slipping in some runs. I thought we did a nice job with that early and that was huge. When we were getting off and getting going, that was important. I thought the points right before halftime, those are always critical. When you can walk away, getting a field goal in that situation, it creates momentum. I thought we were a little inconsistent in the third quarter. When the finish time came and we had opportunities in the fourth quarter, I thought we did a nice job."
On what he was trying to accomplish in the third down where they kicked a field goal: "We were hoping to get a yard. That's what we were hoping for. Trying to figure out a way, whether to get them to jump, or run it, we were trying to figure out a way to get that first. We fell a little bit short there, but ultimately it was enough to get the job done, great kick from Matt [Bryant] at the end of the game to nail it."
On whether he will run more often: "No. Just when you need to. I think sometimes when they cover well, the ability to extend a play, to be able to create a late pass or to kind of use your legs to try and get a first down, I feel like it's something that I've always tried to do. It came at a critical time today."
On whether he was aware that he started the game with 12 straight completions: "I didn't know the exact number, but I knew I was completing passes."
On whether he gets into a rhythm after completing passes: "Yeah, I mean, I felt like I was in a good rhythm to start, seeing things clearly, putting the ball where I wanted to put it, making good decisions. It is a good feeling when you're in that spot. And you just try and stay there, with each play call that comes in, you try and make the right reads, go to the right spot and be accurate with the football."
On the last touchdown drive: "Good play call at a critical time. Obviously, we shifted two tight ends and they came over to the right side to try and create a little bit of confusion on the Tampa Bay side. They kind of adjusted their front. And we had Julio [Jones] outside running inside to draw attention, too, and he's pretty good at that. Tevin (Coleman) came open in the flat, and it was the perfect call at the right time."
On how important that touchdown was for them: "No, it's huge. It was a critical time in the game. That drive, you have to come away with a touchdown there. You just have to have that mindset, and I thought we did. I thought we attacked really well. I thought (Steve Sarkisian) called a really good game, was aggressive, stayed aggressive, even in our last drive of the game and did a really nice job with that."
On the decision not to take a knee before the half: "The mindset and that starts with Dan (Quinn), is to stay aggressive. We felt like with the timeouts that we had, the amount of time that we had, it was a good chance for us to be aggressive. I don't know how many yards we got but we got quite a few yards and put Matt (Bryant) in a position to kick. I thought that was good execution of the two-minute drill at the end of the half."
On whether he thought we would ever throw more touchdown passes than Joe Montana: "No. You know, obviously, it's very special anytime your name is brought up with Joe Montana. I've gotten to know him a little bit throughout my career and he's one of the best guys you could ever meet. It's obviously special. I'm more excited about the win."
On the reason why Austin Hooper is critical for the offense: "It's all of the above. You talk about Calvin (Ridley) going down and Mohamed (Sanu) going down at certain times throughout the game. When guys go down, other people have to step up and fill the void. He did that today. But he's done that for us even when those guys are up. So his talent level, his hard work is paying off. He's doing a really good job for us. Then we're being smart and going to where we're supposed to be going with the football and trusting our guys to make plays in those situations."
On building off of this win after having close losses:
“Yeah, I think you have got to ride momentum when you can get it, get all you can get. Winning is a good thing. We just have to find more ways to do it.”
On how important it is to have a variety of targets available: "(Russell) Gage's hurdle was pretty sweet. His first touch, to basically jump over people, he's been watching (Austin Hooper) a little bit too much on film, I think. It was cool to see when he got his opportunity in, he didn't hesitate and made a really good play for us. You talk about (Justin) Hardy, he's a guy that we can rely on in all situations, ask him to do everything, whether it's special teams, blocking in the run game, catching the ball for us, and pass protection. He does everything. Then when his time comes to catch passes for us, he doesn't blink and he makes plays. Those guys, you know, it's impressive for the guys that don't get all of the same number of snaps but when they get their chances, make plays. It's really cool to see but that's what makes good football teams."
On Ito Smith: "Already I mean, he's been really effective for us, and he's played really, really well. He's another guy that when given his chance, he has taken advantage of it and made a lot of plays for us. We trust him, whether it's in the pass game, in the run game, or in pass protection. We ask him to do a lot of different things. For a guy who has only played six games in this league, he's done a really nice job doing it."
On Matt Bryant: "Well, he's meant everything to me. I mean, he's been so reliable for the better part of nine plus, ten years of playing together. It's like you don't even consider it when you put him in position to make something. He's automatic and he does it and he does it over and over and over and is consistent. His mindset approach is the best of really anybody I've been around. We'll see where he's at. Obviously, there is a lot of things that can happen but he's meant a lot to me and he's meant a lot to this organization. He's been a hell of an addition for us for the better part of a decade."
On how he leads the offense during hard times in the game: "I think for me I always try and make guys feel comfortable when they come in those situations and say listen, you are prepared to do this, just go out there. You don't need to do anything extraordinary, just do what we're asking you to do, do it the best you can do it and you're going to be fine. I think our guys did that. They didn't panic, they didn't try and make anything up. They went out and did what we asked them to do and made plays in the passing game and in the run game for us."
