Ryan aims for happy homecoming

PHILADELPHIA» Quarterback Matt Ryan has another shot at a happy homecoming.

A berth in the NFC title game is at stake when Ryan leads the Atlanta Falcons against the Philadelphia Eagles in a divisional playoff game Saturday. Ryan, who grew up rooting for the Eagles and attended Philadelphia’s William Penn Charter School, is 1-3 at Lincoln Financial Field.

“I’m used to it now,” Ryan said about returning home. “Playing as long as I have, I understand regardless of where we play you have to be at your best. The one nice part is there will be familiar faces, friendly faces after the game, which is always nice.”

Ryan had his worst game of his MVP season in 2016 in Atlanta’s 24-15 loss at Philly in a mid-November clunker. He was 18-of33 for 267 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

“Obviously, there will be some scheme from that game that we’ll take, what went well and what didn’t go well and try to improve on that,” Ryan said. “We’re a different team than we were last season when we played them and they’re a different team. It will be some carry over, but it will be a little bit different.”

Saturday’s meeting is the teams’ first in the playoffs since Philadelphia’s win over Michael Vick’s Falcons in the 2005 NFC championship game.

Nick Foles will make his fourth start since replacing Carson Wentz after the MVP candidate suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 14. Foles played well in his first five quarters and struggled in the next five. He’s certainly a drop-off from Wentz but is capable of spectacular performances. Foles once tossed seven touchdown passes in a game, in 2013. He threw four TD passes in his first start in Week 15.

“There’s enough substance behind his career that merits having confidence,” Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said.

There’s crowd noise, and then there’s the noise generated by Philadelphia fans known for their intensity.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn seemed to search for a polite term to compare Eagles fans with the fans the team heard in last weekend’s wild-card win over the Rams in Los Angeles.

“I’m not going to say more passionate, but I would say more Northeast,” Quinn said, smiling.

The Falcons pumped in artificial noise at practices this week but will lean heavily on Ryan and center Alex Mack to use their experience with silent counts and hand signals during the game.