Getty Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons during the fourth quarter against the Patriots.
The Atlanta Falcons entered Week 11 fresh off a 43-3 Sunday loss to the Dallas Cowboys with just three days to prepare to take on the New England Patriots on Thursday night.
The Falcons would go on to play bad football and lose 25-0.
To briefly summarize: Matt Ryan threw two interceptions and was sacked four times. Younghoe Koo hit a 45-yard field goal, but the Falcons got called back for illegal formation and he missed a 50-yard field goal. Both of Falcons backup QBs, Josh Rosen and Feliepe Franks, threw back-to-back interceptions to end the game. Oh, and at one point during the game, wide receivers Tajae Sharpe and Russell Gage ran into each other and A.J. Terrell intercepted Mac Jones, but the Falcons gave the ball right back to New England.
It’s hard to blame the short week to prepare, considering the fact that the Patriots had the same amount of time to prepare after crushing the Cleveland Browns 45-7 and were able to hold Atlanta to zero points. So who’s to blame?
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Matt Ryan Blames Lack of Production on Offense
Without swiss army knife Cordarrelle Patterson and No. 1 receiver Calvin Ridley, the Falcons struggled through the air and on the ground.
The Falcons’ backfield totaled just 40 yards for the game on 2.5 yards per carry, while Ryan completed just 19 of 28 passes for 153 yards and zero touchdowns with two interceptions.
“It’s been a tough five days offensively,” Ryan said after the game. “It’s just across the board. We haven’t thrown the ball well enough. We haven’t run the ball well enough.”
After posting a career-worst passer rating of 21.4 against Dallas in Week 10, he followed that up with another low rating of 51.6. However, it doesn’t help the fact that the offensive line gave Ryan little time to throw the ball and let him hit the ground more than they let him stand on his feet.
“I’ve got to be more accurate. We’ve all got to be more effective with what we’re asked to do in terms of the game plan,” said Ryan. “We got a nice little extra few days to take a deep dive into what we can do better moving forward. We certainly got to take advantage of that.”
He did, however, credit the Falcons’ defense for doing their part and holing Jones and the Pats to just 13 points until the fourth quarter.
“Our defense did a nice job of keeping us in the game the entire night even well into the fourth quarter, he said. “There has been production, and good play throughout the year. We have to find a way to get back to that.”
There’s not much good news for Atlanta aside from the fact that they get to rest this weekend before having to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars Thanksgiving weekend.
What NFL Twitter Had to Say
Naturally, NFL Twitter had a lot to say about the Falcons’ second-straight embarrassing loss.
Georgia reporter, Kevin Keneely, and many other long-time Falcons followers believe Matt Ryan deserves better:
Our friends “across the pond” could not agree more:
Matt Ryan deserves to play for an NFL team.
After getting beat up for nearly 60 minutes, NFL radio host Adam Schein is on board with Ryan deserving better:
Feel so terrible for my guy Matt Ryan. The future Hall of Famer deserves so much better.
But it’s actually a circus on who is to blame here:
They don’t have talent. Plain and simple.
Arthur Smith can’t be the play caller he is expected to be.
Dean Pees can only implement a fraction of his playbook.
Stop blaming Ryan, or Smith or even Fontenot.
The talent needs to improve. Significantly.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to put the blame on a first-year head coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot when the Falcons ex-gm Thomas Dimitroff didn’t leave them with much to work with:
Although., we can’t forget about who makes the final call:
I think it’s time we put Arthur Blank on the hot seat
But one person (of many) who can get behind the Falcons looking terrible is former Saints legend Reggie Bush:
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