Like the old watch commercial, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan took a licking and kept on ticking Sunday against the league’s fiercest pass rush.
The Buffalo Bills clobbered Ryan, dragged him around and pulled on his jersey. They even knocked his lineman back into him.
When the dust settled, Ryan was sacked six times and hit nine times. But Ryan kept getting back up.
“He was under some pressure,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We had a couple of no hitters, which are what we call basically unblocked guys. We had an identification issue on one and a mental error on another.
“Then he had an unfortunate situation on the goal line where he got his foot stepped on. Those three (sacks) were pretty unfortunate. The other three we just physically gave up sacks.”
Ryan proved that if he can stay upright long enough, he can find his receivers and pull out a victory. That could be a valuable trait as the Falcons (3-9) are set to face the Green Bay Packers (5-6-1) , who might be without signal-caller Aaron Rodgers Sunday.
“You just have to keep going,” said Ryan, who’s been sacked 30 times this season and hit 78 times. “That’s just one of those things. You just have to keep battling.”
The Falcons’ first two possessions of the game ended with punts after Ryan was sacked on third down by Manny Lawson and Jerry Hughes. On their third possession, Ryan was blasted by Mario Williams, who was called for roughing the passer.
“(Buffalo has) one of the best front sevens in the league,” Ryan said. “Obviously they lead the league in sacks … They’re a talented bunch. We knew that coming into it.”
The line had its moments, but gave up three sacks in the first half and three in the second.
“I thought our guys kept battling, regardless of what happened with the sacks or whatever,” Ryan said. “We just kept going.”
After trailing 14-0, Ryan, like a prize fighter, shook off those hits to rally the Falcons to a 17-17 halftime tie.
“Obviously, it was not the start that we wanted to have,” Ryan said. “I thought the best thing about us was that we didn’t blink. When we started out we were down 14-0, but then we had a great drive to get it back to 14-7. Then we battled back to get it to 17-17 at halftime. With fumbles, etc. in the fourth quarter we just kept responding.”
After the Falcons took a 24-17 lead, their first second-half lead since facing Tampa Bay on Oct. 20, the pass protection collapsed again.
The Falcons had to send in an extra linemen to help when they used backup tackle Ryan Schraeder as a tight end and extra blocker.
“They used him for protection and being able to double guys,” Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “And when they weren’t, when they went five-man protection, (Ryan) was getting the ball out, getting it out quick.”
After Buffalo scored two touchdowns to take the lead, 31-24, Ryan directed the Falcons on an 11-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that was aided by three Buffalo penalties.
In overtime, the Falcons didn’t risk their pass protection after a fumble recovery and Desmond Trufant’s return of Robert Alford’s lateral to Buffalo’s 47-yard line. After a 4-yard run by Steven Jackson, Ryan tossed a quick screen to Harry Douglas that gained 20-yards. Two more runs of 4 and 2 yards led to field goal time.
Despite the relentless pressure, the Falcons mounted scoring drives of 81, 71, 36, 55 and 65 and 30 yards.
It certainly helped that the Falcons were able to double their rushing average of 74.7 yards with 151 yards on 30 carries against the Bills. That helped the Falcons convert on 10 of 18 third down situations.
“They lead the league in plus (10-play) drives, they do a good job of that,” Bills coach Doug Marrone said.
Ryan, who’s been sacked 11 times and hit 18 times over the past two games, was elated to be able to walk and talk about a victory.
“To get it done (against Buffalo) on the road and the way we did it as well, overcoming a lot of things throughout the entire game … makes it feel even better,” Ryan said.
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