Getty Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons warms up prior to facing the Cleveland Browns.
It’s that time of year again where the Atlanta Falcons take on Tom Brady and the 28-3 memes start pouring all over social media — this time from Brady himself.
Brady took to Twitter where he posted a video recapping Week 1’s victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but if you look closely over his left shoulder, you will see that the clock on his computer reads 3:28. Is this a knock at the Falcons’ infamous Super Bowl loss to Brady and the New England Patriots? Absolutely.
As for quarterback Matt Ryan, he’s not going to let the ongoing 28-3 memes haunt him.
“Listen, of course we want to win this week, but it’s not going to make up for that,” Ryan told reporters during a September 15 press conference. “It’s part of your past. It’s part of what happened, but it’s got no bearing on this week.”
The Falcons lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 32-6 in their Week 1 matchup on September 12, but Ryan is sure that poor performance doesn’t define who this young Falcons team can be.
“The good teams I have been on are the ones that have gotten better as the year went on,” he said.
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Ryan Details What It’s Like to Take on Brady
Ryan, in his 14th NFL season, has yet to beat Brady. But once again, beating Brady won’t be his only worry on Sunday. The Falcons must figure out how to stop the Bucs’ loaded offense and find holes in their stingy defense.
“I’ve played a lot of great quarterbacks in my career, and you know they’re going to get their team an opportunity on the other side no matter how the game shakes out,” Ryan said via AtlantaFalcons.com. “Going against [former New Orleans quarterback] Drew Bees in the division, you know that’s how it’s going to be. Tom’s the same kind of player. He’s mentally tough, does a great job of staying in the present and playing at a high level. You have to play at the same level on your side, but it comes down to their defense. That unit creates issues for us and we have to find ways to attack it.
“You can’t worry about what he’s doing. You have to worry about what you’re doing and how you’re executing the way that we’re capable.”
Atlanta posted just 260 yards in total offense, 136 yards passing and 124 yards rushing in their first game of the season. On third downs, they converted just three of 14. And starting quarterback Ryan went 21-of-36 for 164 yards passing and no touchdowns. Running backs Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Davis combined for 103 rushing yards, while No. 4 overall pick tight end Kyle Pitts contributed only 31 yards on four receptions.
The Falcons defense didn’t do any better, giving up 434 yards to the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the Bucs barely came up with a win against a very good Dallas Cowboys team.
Brady went 32-of-50 passes for 378 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. However, he was not sacked by the Cowboys’ defense, unlike Ryan, who went down three times. The Bucs had 431 yards in total offense to end the night.
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