Sports

Thursday heroics just another leap forward for Falcons’ Ryan, White

interns Contributor
Font Size:
Round 1 of the Matt Ryan/Joe Flacco debate goes to Ryan — barely. Both Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were drafted in the first round of the 2008 draft, and both have had almost identical, impressive starts to their careers. On Thursday night, both quarterbacks put on a show in the fourth quarter, with Ryan coming out on top. The Falcons QB was 32 of 50 for 316 yards and three touchdowns, controlling the game in the first half before winning it in the final minute. Ryan helped the Falcons convert seven third-and-five or longer situations in the first half, repeatedly keeping the Ravens defense on the field, as Atlanta built a 10-0 lead. And when the Ravens grabbed a 21-20 lead late, Ryan drove his team 80 yards in 45 seconds for the winning score. “I’m honored to have him on my team,” said Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann. “He takes control of that offense and makes it go.” Flacco, meanwhile, came to life in the second half and nearly stole the game. Flacco finished 22 for 34 for 215 yards and three touchdowns, including a dart to Todd Heap with 1:05 left, giving his team a significant, but short-lived lead. The Falcons bothered Flacco with pressure in the first half, but he was more effective on the move in the second half and was at his best in the fourth quarter — the surest sign of a franchise quarterback. It’s a shame these two don’t square off more often.

This was a timely win for the Falcons. Atlanta has a good shot at winning its division for the first time since 2004. The Falcons (7-2) have a one-game lead on the Saints and already own a win at New Orleans. Things tend to get steeper from here, however. Four of the Falcons’ next six games are away from the Georgia Dome, and the two home games are against likely playoff participants Green Bay and New Orleans. The Falcons are not nearly as fearsome on the road (2-2), and Ryan’s unfathomable 18-1 record at the Dome is going to have to come down at some point, right?

The Falcons have given themselves just a little wiggle room, however, with a win over a team that should land in the AFC playoffs. The Ravens (6-3) should be able to bounce back with games against the Panthers and Bucs the next two weeks before a critical showdown with the Steelers in Week 13.

“It’s always difficult when you play a team in their place, on their turf, with the crowd noise,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. “I think being in this kind of environment this early in the season is going to pay off for us later on down the road.”

CLICK: Thursday heroics just another leap forward for Falcons’ Ryan, White – Bill Trocchi – SI.com

WATCH: VICK RETURNS TO NFL

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel