Falcons throttle Chargers 27-3 to remain undefeated
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes against the San Diego Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game in San Diego Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan turned in one of the greatest days of his five-year NFL career on Sunday against the Chargers in a battle of unbeaten teams.
With Ryan operating at near peak performance and the defense confounding San Diego’s offense, the Falcons defeated the Chargers 27-3, before 61,297 fans, to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2004.
“I really liked the way all three phases of the team played today,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “They performed extremely well.”
The Falcons used their passing attack to build a lead and then turned the game over to running back Michael Turner, who had a tumultuous week that included being arrested for driving under the influence, to close out the game.
Ryan completed 30 of 40 passes for 275 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
“I feel as confident as I ever have for sure and a lot of that has to do with experience. …having good experiences and bad experiences,” said Ryan, who improved his record as a starter in the NFL to 46-19. “ I’m now realizing that I can do it. I can make the plays we need to make in order to win.”
Free safety Thomas DeCoud is also gaining more confidence from his experiences. He was at the center two key turnovers that fueled the victory.
DeCoud recovered a fumble that set up a back-breaking 17-play, 96-yard touchdown drive. He also came up with an interception that helped the Falcons build a 20-0 halftime lead.
“I think it’s a combination of the scheme, skill and confidence all coming together,” DeCoud said. “We are a defense that is offensive minded and we want to get the ball back for our offense. I think we’ve really taken that to heart.”
Ryan and the offense opened the game with a solid touchdown drive.
With Ryan passing on 8 of 10 plays, the Falcons marched down the field before he tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Jacquizz Rodgers. Holder Matt Bosher scooped up an errant Josh Harris snap, but was tackled while trying to run for the extra point.
With the Falcons up 6-0, the game stalled until early in the second quarter.
The Chargers were on the move and drove inside the Falcons’ 10 yard line when DeCoud held up San Diego running back Ryan Mathews and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon whacked him from the back to force a fumble.
DeCoud recovered Mathews’ 11th fumble in 27 career NFL games.
“I was pushing for more yards and when I was going down to get a little extra, the ball came out in front of me,” Mathews said. “Stuff like that happens and I just have to learn to go down instead of trying to get the extra yard.”
The Falcons promptly drove 96 yards in 17 plays before Ryan tossed a laser shot to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who hauled it in for a 7-yard touchdown. It was the 98th career touchdown for Gonzalez.
During the drive, their longest of the season, the offense converted on five third downs to keep the chains moving.
“We got into a rhythm,” Ryan said. “The one that stands out to me is Jason Snelling catching the check down and being able to run for nine or 10 yards, converting on a third-and-long situation.”
With the Chargers on the ropes, quarterback Philip Rivers tossed an ill-advised pass out to tight end Antonio Gates and DeCoud made a spectacular interception along the sideline at San Diego’s 29 with 1:53 left in the second quarter.
The Falcons struck quickly, with Ryan tossing a 9-yard touchdown pass on a fade route to Julio Jones on the fourth play of the drive. Rodgers picked up a blitzer to allow Ryan time to get off the touchdown pass that made it 20-0.
“That was a big-time catch over there on our sideline in the end zone,” Smith said. “On the very first play, he was injured. To what extent, I don’t know. He was able to return to play and made a big play for us when we needed it. There were a bunch of guys in that locker room that made big plays. I’m very proud of them.”
San Diego received a 41-yard field goal from Nate Kaeding on their first drive of the second half.
About the only thing Ryan did wrong was throw a third quarter interception. He hadn’t thrown an interception in a franchise-record 272 attempts before San Diego cornerback Antoine Cason’s interception.
The Falcons will attempt to improve to 4-0 when they face the well-rested Carolina Panthers (1-2), who played Thursday night, at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
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187 comments Add your comment
miked
September 24th, 2012
9:32 am
Even though we are rolling I still have a warrant out for Ray Jackson arrest. He is stealing money. I haven’t heard his name called once this season. He is a bust. When Corey comes in he gets pressure. Let him start and cut Jackson please.
Brent
September 24th, 2012
9:48 am
Matt Ryan 8 TDs 1 INT ….Higest QB Rating in NFL ….MVP thus far
Falcons defense 7 Interceptions in 3 games = 1st NFL
Falcons 3-0 …1 of 3 remaining 3-0 teams. Support your Falcons Atlanta!! Go Falcons!!
Esquire
September 24th, 2012
9:49 am
Sargent Carter
September 24th, 2012
3:16 am
Basically, Falcons boys, not yet men, all people are saying, show us the money, we still don’t believe
********************************************
Not yet men? All people? Show us the money? We still don’t believe?
Sounds like a troll who wants to post but not willing to use his real handle.
Hey Falcons D
September 24th, 2012
9:51 am
Somebody knock Mr. Newton into next week come Sunday. ATL baby, We all in!
Esquire
September 24th, 2012
9:57 am
miked
September 24th, 2012
9:32 am
Even though we are rolling I still have a warrant out for Ray Jackson arrest. He is stealing money. I haven’t heard his name called once this season. He is a bust. When Corey comes in he gets pressure. Let him start and cut Jackson please.
**************************************************************
Consider him cut. There isn’t a Ray Jackson on the Falcons roster.
kd
September 24th, 2012
10:07 am
whats with all the negativity? yea its early but every game counts, and we setting the pace for the rest of the nfl earning respect in the process. confidence is key (ask the giants), lets ride this thang on out! rise up
Esquire
September 24th, 2012
10:12 am
Last year in week 3 we lost to Tampa Bay after a big win over Philadelphia. In week 4 we barely beat Seattle with a 30-28 win and 2-2 record. Though it would be easy to let down against Carolina they are coming to OUR HOUSE for a butt whuppin!!
D man
September 24th, 2012
10:23 am
Matt Ryan still leads the NFL in QB rating at 114. Looks like the early leader for the MVP…
Falcon Fan
September 24th, 2012
10:24 am
OMG what a fantastic performance by the ‘Birds of Prey’…The defense is flying around the ball. MT gets 80 yards. The receiving Corp is drowning the opposition. Go Matt.
Hats off to KC. They ‘Hen Pecked’ their way back into the game and served a bitter defeat to NO in their own Home…..how sweet it is
GO FALCONS..!!!
PaulWinchester
September 24th, 2012
10:33 am
The Falcons look GREAT the first 3 weeks of the season, but not to be negative, I see a trend that makes me uncomfortable watching them in the second halfs of games this year. IT APPEARS WHEN THEY GET OUT TO THEIR BIG 20 POINT LEADS AT HALFTIME–THEY SIMPLY SIT ON THOSE LEADS AND STOP EXECUTING LIKE THEY DID IN THE FIRST HALFS. Im i the only one seeing this. It looks to me that they are just coming to play one good half of football and thank god its the first half that builds a lead. Against the more talented, more explosive teams like the Patriots, Steelers, Eagles, Saints, Ravens and Packers, this formula wont work because those teams keep pouring on the offense and they dont stop until they have scored 30-50 points. The Falcons seem to stop on 20 and it just beat Peyton Manning and the Broncos and could have been disastrous had the chargers not thrown those picks and were more aggresive on offense. I see a Falcons team that needs to learn how to keep scoring throughout the game. THE GAME IS NOT FINISHED AT HALFTIME!
bfred
September 24th, 2012
10:46 am
I didn’t get to see any of the game this week, but
JamesMason
September 24th, 2012
10:47 am
Matt Ryan still leads the NFL in QB rating at 114. Looks like the early leader for the MVP. Wonderful
Roddy Whte and Julio Jones are leading the NFL in receptions for tandem wideouts. Fantastic
Michael Turner is leading the NFL in rushing. Super
Those things mean absolutely nothing if we dont win the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year after winning the superbowl. Superbowl titles mean something. Personal stats mean absolutely nothing. Get it!
bfred
September 24th, 2012
10:50 am
Not sure what happened there…
anyway, I didn’t get to see any of the game this week but watching the defensive schemes against the Broncos I don’t know how an offense prepares for the Falcons. As an announcer in that game rightly noted, not only can you not tell what coverage they’re using prior to the snap, the way they line up you can’t even tell what position a player is covering. This may be the best defense against a no-huddle offense that tries to spy on formations and keep defenses on their heels. Turns the table a little, and clearly worked against two top quarterbacks.
Football Runners » Falcons throttle Chargers 27-3 to remain undefeated
September 24th, 2012
11:21 am
[...] Atlanta Journal-Constitution Click here for full article [...]
North FLA Falcon
September 24th, 2012
11:34 am
This game belonged to our Oline. Those guys were out there in 110 degree heat. As the SD defense rotated guys in and out, our hogs were protecting Ryan and opening holes for the running game, on several long drives no less. They were basically on the field for the entire first half! And our guys wore them out in the 2nd half! I enjoyed watching Mike Johnson road-grading on Turner’s TD run. GO FALCONS
Enkinan
September 24th, 2012
11:42 am
Man, this team looks as good as I’ve ever seen. Let’s hope they can play at this level for the whole season. These new coordinators have made a world of difference. It’s hard to believe this is basically the same defense as last year minus Grimes and Lofton.
The Aint's go marching out...
September 24th, 2012
11:42 am
Do you want to see how the Aint’s diehards really feel about their team? They’ve completely given up. I guess we really aren’t the worst fans after all. Check out their fan forum and read the laughable comments. http://saintsreport.com/forums/f2/
LongTimeFan
September 24th, 2012
11:46 am
It’s a long season folks…a little humility goes a long way.
DazzyG
September 24th, 2012
12:06 pm
@The Aint’s go marching out…
LOL thanks for the link. Here is a good one from that site…
______________________________________________________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3kt0r View Post
“Losing 42-7 to Atlanta would be my rock bottom. Put me on suicide watch if that ever happens.”
It can get worse, Atlanta could go on to win the Superbowl in the dome. That would be rock bottom.
__________________
Us Against The World
warfalcon
September 24th, 2012
2:07 pm
WAY TO GO FALCONS.NEXT UP `CAM THE CRY BABY NEWTON` at least his mother will be at the game to give him a bottle. LETS GO FALCONS on game at a time and we can run the table.WATCH.
Reuben
September 24th, 2012
3:00 pm
I’m from Atlanta and have been here in San Diego and attended the game yesterday. I too was surprised to see all my Falcons fans in attendance. When we scored the 1st touchdown I was making my way to my seat when I heard the stadium erupt in cheers. I thought the chargers scored that’s how loud it was. Good game(for us anyways) and those Chargers fans aren’t too classy nor are they loyal. Rise Up baby 3-0 leh go!
jaz
September 24th, 2012
3:39 pm
The Birds are getting it into gear, and next in line are the Panthers and this time I see Cam Newton’s eyes lighting up with that deer-in-the-headlight look when he sees Nolan’s D. Shouldn’t take too long before he’s on the bench talking to himself again. Can’t wait.
Falconfanriseup
September 24th, 2012
3:56 pm
For all the haters that was hating on DeCoud last year i told you he was really good. I hate to say it but i told you so
JONESBORO SLIM
September 24th, 2012
3:59 pm
I see many fans are “counting the chickens before they hatch” we got to take one game at a time… Cam Newton doesn’t take losing to well…I believe Nolan’s defense will be a Chinese cross word puzzle…to the Saints fans PEEPING in on this blog 0-4 next week (Green Bay @Green Bay)
JONESBORO SLIM
September 24th, 2012
4:06 pm
JAZ…
Didn’t mean to take your thunder about Nolan’s D…. but you’re right
Falcons throttle Chargers 27-3 to remain undefeated | football-feed.com
September 24th, 2012
4:24 pm
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phil
September 24th, 2012
8:57 pm
Fire Mike Smith!!
Blake
September 24th, 2012
10:43 pm
Hello 3-0…..
JamesMason
September 25th, 2012
9:36 am
Somebody wrote “man this team looks good”. Remember the year the Falcons went 13-3 and got smashed by green bay. And also last year when we faced the giants and failed to score an offensive play the entire game. THE ENTIRE OUTPUT FOR THE FALCONS LAST YEAR IN THE PLAYOFFS AGAINST THE GIANTS WAS TWO POINTS—A DEFENSIVE SAFETY. That is an embarrassment to the Falcons organization and shows me they havent made any progress since 1966.
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