Matt Ryan and the Falcons are now 2-1. (Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is once again making a statement that he should be a part of the conversation as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.
On Thursday night, Matty Ice was very nice.
After looking less than pedestrian while throwing three interceptions against Cincinnati, Ryan missed on only three of his 24 passes while leading the Falcons to a 56-14 rout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ryan was not pleased with how things went in Cincinnati.
“We talked about all week that we wanted to start fast and rebound from last week,” Ryan said. “I thought we did a great job of that collectively, all three phases.
“With that being said, even as good as tonight was, I think there are areas where we can improve and get better. All in all, there was really good effort. I loved the energy from all three phases. We got the job done.”
After playing three games in the first 12 days of the season, the Falcons can relax and point to playing the Adrian Peterson-less Minnesota Vikings while going into their mini-bye week.
Unless there’s another quick turn in the situation, Peterson likely will not face the Falcons.
“I’m sure it changes what they are going to try to do,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “(Norv) Turner is their offensive coordinator. He’s been doing it a long time in the NFL.”
Ryan passed for a career-high 448 yards in leading the Falcons to a 37-34 overtime win over the Saints. Against the Bengals, he threw three interceptions and had a sub-50 passer rating for just the fourth time in his first 96 regular-season games.
Against Tampa Bay, Ryan had a record-breaking night. He passed for 286 yards with three touchdowns and a career-high 155.9 passer rating.
Ryan’s 87.5 completion percentage and his 155.9 quarterback rating set franchise records for a game.
Ryan previously shared the club record for completion percentage with quarterback Steve Bartkowski at 85.7. He broke quarterback Wade Wilson’s passer rating record for a game of 154.5.
“Absolutely, I think in this league there are going to be weeks where it’s tough, especially on the road,” Ryan said. “Sometimes you don’t play as well as you like. Good teams respond and good teams come back and play better the following week.”
The Falcons jumped out to a 56-0 lead before easing off the gas pedal with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
The Falcons’ 21 first-quarter points tied for most in the first quarter in team history. It was the fifth time the Falcons have scored 21 points in the first quarter. The last time was Jan. 1, 2012, against the Buccaneers at the Georgia Dome.
The game also marked the 21st time that Ryan has thrown three touchdowns. He is 20-1 when that happens. The Falcons also improved to 36-2 when he has a passer rating of 100 or higher.
“Our objective as an offense is to try and score every time we touch the ball,” Ryan said. “We did a pretty good job of putting up some points. Special teams added to it and the defense added to it.
“Defense had a turnover, interception for a touchdown but also a fumble recovery that puts us on the 1-yard line. Field position like that is pretty good.”
Ryan made another case for himself to be considered with the elite quarterbacks in the league.
Since 2012, Ryan has thrown 65 touchdown passes, which ranks third in the NFL during that span. Ryan trails Peyton Manning (98) and Drew Brees (85). He has thrown 160 career touchdown passes and ranks 12th among active players and sixth since 2008.
The team is getting more out of Devin Hester than most people expected. He broke the touchdowns return record of Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders.
Hester has returned 14 punts, five kickoffs and one blocked field goal attempt for touchdowns. His 14 punt returns are also an NFL record.
Wide receiver Julio Jones caught nine passes for 161 yards with two touchdowns — the sixth multi-touchdown game of his career, and his yards receiving were the second highest total of his career in the regular season. Jones posted 182 yards against the St. Louis Rams last season and 182 yards against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2012 NFC Championship Game.
