Matt Ryan Named NFC Offensive Player of the Week
The Atlanta Falcons went on the road as a six-point underdog, but came back from New Orleans with a 27-25 victory over the Saints.
For his part in the Falcons' win, quarterback Matt Ryan has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week by the NFL.
Ryan was 23 of 30 passing for 343 yards and two touchdowns. He also added eight yards rushing and a touchdown.
The Falcons were on the verge of another humiliating fourth-quarter choke-job before Ryan, running back Cordarrelle Patterson, and kicker Younghoe Koo rescued the win.
The Falcons led 24-6 with 10:39 left in the fourth quarter before the Saints, not surprisingly to Falcons fans, scored 19 straight points.
The mistake the Saints made was leaving 61 seconds on the clock after taking a 25-24 lead for Ryan and the Falcons to save face and save the game.
Atlanta's first play from scrimmage after receiving the ensuing kickoff was a 64 yard Ryan pass to Patterson that immediately put the Falcons in field goal range.
From there it was clock management and Pro Bowl kicker Koo to ice the game.
The Falcons are 3-1 in road games this season but just 1-3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They'll need to harness some of that road magic against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
According to the latest lines, the Falcons are a nine-point road dog to the Cowboys, their biggest deficit of the year.
Dallas was embarrassed at home by the Denver Broncos who also entered Jerry's World at 4-4 but left 5-4.
Can the Falcons give the fans in Dallas a repeat performance?
They'll need the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week and his teammates to play their best game of the season.
