QB Ryan’s running sparks home victory
ATLANTA — Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones doesn’t want to see Matt Ryan flying through the air trying to cross the goal line any time soon.
“He needs to be careful,” Jones said after the Falcons’ 31-24 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. “He can get hurt out there and we are going to fight.”
But Ryan’s 8-yard touchdown run helped to power the Falcons to victory. It got the team fired up before they held on for the victory.
“No, that was a great job,” Jones said.
It was Ryan’s second rushing touchdown of the game and gave the Falcons a 31-17 lead. The defense had a near meltdown, the offense couldn’t close out on a short-yardage situation and the Falcons weren’t in the clear until a Cam Newton pass for wide receiver D.J. Moore crashed to the turf on the final play.
The Falcons needed Ryan’s sixth and seventh career rushing touchdowns and a strong rushing performance from running back Tevin Coleman to earn the victory and improve to 1-1. The Panthers dropped to 1-1 with the loss.
Ryan completed 23 of 28 passes for 272 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He finished with a passer rating of 116.1.
Coleman rushed 16 times for 107 yards. Ito Smith had 46 yards rushing on nine carries.
The Falcons scored touchdowns on all four of their trips inside the Panthers’ 20-yard line.
Trailing 10-3, Ryan connected with rookie Calvin Ridley for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Ridley put a wicked move on Carolina cornerback Donte Jackson to get open on route.
On the Falcons’ next possession, Ryan tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper as the Falcons built a 17-10 halftime lead.
On the third trip to the red zone, Ryan powered in behind center Alex Mack and left guard Brandon Fusco for a 1-yard rushing touchdown. The score put the Falcons up 24-10.
After the Panthers scored to make it 24-17, Ryan went back to his scrambling ways. On third-and-5 from the 8-yard line, Ryan rolled out to his left looking to pass. He pulled the ball down and powered his way into the end zone over safety Mike Adams and Shaq Thompson. Hooper knocked down Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly with a ferocious block.
“We didn’t come out with new plays or nothing like that,” Jones said. “We just went out there and executed.”
The red-zone performance was a marked improvement from the season-opening loss to the Eagles when the Falcons were 1 of 5 in the scoring zone. the slant
After ranking 23rd in the league in red-zone scoring last season, the Falcons made that an area of emphasis over the offseason, but not necessarily with Ryan turning into a running quarterback.
“Our execution was better than it had been before,” Ryan said. “Probably it was the way the guys worked all week. We got our chances. We nailed them across the board today. The execution was great. That was kind of it.”
Ryan was just trying to pick up the third-and-5 on his second touchdown run.
“Yeah, I felt like I was passed the first down, but I wasn’t quite sure,” Ryan said. “I didn’t want to slide in that situation or go down because you don’t know where you are going to get marked. So I felt that someone was below my feet, so I felt I’d go up and protect the ball as best I could.”
On the sneak, the referees were slow to signal that Ryan had crossed the line.
“I was about 2 yards in the end zone, so I knew it was a touchdown,” Ryan said. “When they didn’t signal, I was letting them know it was a touchdown. And they finally decided that it was.”