Any opponent coming to the Georgia Dome in the playoffs will have to deal with the Falcons and their sizzling quarterback.
Matt Ryan staggered the Lions early and finished them off late for a 31-18 Falcons victory Saturday night at Ford Field. The Falcons (13-2) will be the NFC’s top seed with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
Atlanta’s victory over Detroit rendered moot the result of next Sunday’s regular-season finale against Tampa Bay at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons now will sit back and watch the rest of the NFC’s playoff contenders fight it out for the five other seeds.
The Lions (4-11) lost their seventh consecutive game and could only take solace in wide receiver Calvin Johnson breaking Jerry Rice’s season-single record for receiving yards (1,848). Johnson, the former Sandy Creek High and Georgia Tech standout, needed 182 yards for the mark and finished with 11 catches for 225 yards.
The Falcons will ride into the playoffs with Ryan and the passing game back in their early-season forms. After Ryan carved up the Giants in a 34-0 victory on Sunday, he was 25 for 32 for 279 yards and four touchdowns against the Lions.
Ryan’s fourth touchdown pass gave him 31 for the season. That ties the franchise single-season record set by Steve Bartkowski in 1980.
Ryan was 15 of 16 for 184 yards with three touchdowns in the first half as the Falcons raced out to a 21-6 lead. When the Lions rallied to within 21-16 early in the final quarter to energize their fans, Ryan quieted them by leading Atlanta on a 10-play touchdown drive.
He completed six straight passes during the drive, including a 15-yard pass to Roddy White to convert a third down. Ryan also had a 16-yard scramble on second-and-17 and finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Michael Palmer.
Ryan started the game by completing his first 12 pass attempts for 156 yards, including touchdown passes of 44 and 39 yards to White. Ryan’s next pass fell incomplete to leave him two short of the NFL record for consecutive completions — he’d connected on his final 10 attempts against the Giants.
Just after the two-minute warning, Ryan struck again on a 16-yard touchdown toss to Julio Jones.
But Detroit kicked a field goal to trim the lead to 21-6 before halftime, and Atlanta’s offense bogged down to start the second half. After the Falcons went three-and-out on their opening possession, the Lions answered with a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped by Mikel Leshoure’s touchdown run.
The Falcons managed just 18 yards on their second possession of the half. The Lions drove to a first-and-goal at Atlanta’s six-yard line to open the fourth quarter, but the Falcons held them to a field goal that made it 21-16.
Ultimately the Lions lost because they were the latest opponent that couldn’t stop Atlanta’s passing game even though the Falcons didn’t run the ball effectively.
In the days before the game, Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the Falcons no longer are the power-running team from years past. Now the Falcons air it out with Ryan, Jones, White, tight end Tony Gonzalez and new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter
“Their quarterback’s a better player,” Schwartz said. “He’s got more places to go with the ball. … It’s easy to see what their plan is and how it’s affected them because a few years ago you would have taken the approach of the Falcons (that) you’re going to have to load up and stop the run.”
The lowest-seeded team to advance from the wild-card round will play the Falcons at the Georgia Dome on Jan. 5 or 6. As things stand now, Atlanta’s first playoff game most likely will be against either the Seahawks or the eventual winner of the NFC East from among the Redskins, Cowboys and Giants.
But a lot still can change because the 49ers and Packers are the only other NFC teams that have clinched playoff spots. The 49ers (10-3-1) are the NFC’s No. 2 team at the moment, but the Packers (10-4) still can catch them and earn a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round.
