Following an ugly performance on opening night in Philadelphia, the pressure on Matt Ryan was intensifying in 2018. A rollercoaster 2017 season that ended in a devastating loss to the Eagles put the Falcons in a position where they had to move with urgency after nearly making it back to the Super Bowl.
To fall short against the same team in a similar fashion to start the season raised more questions about the state of the offense, particularly for embattled offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. They
responded by scoring 31 or more points in three consecutive games.
During that scorching stretch, Ryan threw 10 touchdowns and one interception. That included completing at least 74% of his passes in all three games. After a much-needed win over Carolina, where Ryan completed 82% of his passes, an early-season showdown against New Orleans was next for the Falcons.
Both teams were Super Bowl contenders going into the season. Both games were surprisingly defensive slugfests in the previous season, with each team winning at home. Not having those classic high-scoring games between Ryan and Drew Brees felt odd, especially considering the offensive firepower both squads had. Both offenses came to play in this matchup, producing one of the wildest games ever in the historic rivalry.
New connection
There was some criticism about the Falcons’ decision to draft Calvin Ridley in the first round. All the critiques about selecting an “older” receiver ended by the third week of the season. A stat line of seven receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns against the Saints will have your jersey next to Ryan and Julio Jones in stores across Atlanta.
As Ridley was creating separation at will and accelerating past the Saints’ secondary, Ryan was consistently hitting him in stride. Ridley’s clever stutter-and-go on P.J. Williams was the first touchdown between the 2016 NFL MVP and the rookie wide receiver in this incredible game.
One of the biggest developments in Ryan’s growth into becoming a top-tier quarterback was his conviction in targeting a clear mismatch. It’s something Kyle Shanahan brought out of him often at his best. Ryan identified that Williams couldn’t keep pace with Ridley. He went in full attack mode.
After beating him on a comeback for an 11-yard gain, Ridley decided to go vertical against Williams two drives later. The formation alignment worked perfectly as Sarkisian used trips on the left with Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Austin Hooper.
Aligning Ridley to be isolated against Williams gave Ryan a clear opportunity to get aggressive downfield. That became a 75-yard touchdown as Ryan led Ridley beautifully after he won his matchup again. Sean Payton had no choice but to bench the overmatched cornerback after the second touchdown.
It didn’t take long for the third touchdown between them. A six-play, 75-yard drive to start the second half ended with Ryan patiently going through his progressions to find Ridley in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard score.
They got into the red zone after Ridley drew a pass interference on Ken Crawley, as Ryan lofted a tremendous deep ball to force the defensive back into a costly penalty. The way they instantly clicked was astonishing to watch. It showed Ryan’s ability to bring the best out of his primary playmakers.
No margin for even the slightest error
After not getting a first down on the first drive in the second half, the Saints scored four consecutive touchdowns to win the game. Three of those drives went 75 yards or more. The Falcons’ defense couldn’t have been more helpless against Brees, Alvin Kamara, and Michael Thomas.
It left Ryan needing to play a perfect game. Taking three sacks and throwing nine incompletions shouldn’t be detrimental, yet every drive that didn’t end in points felt game-altering.
Ryan completed passes to eight players to drive the offense forward. High-percentage throws to Ito Smith and Logan Paulsen put them in striking distance in the early fourth quarter. A well-designed flood concept to the right, with Ridley and Hooper creating space schematically, allowed Tevin Coleman to capitalize on a mismatch against Demario Davis for another touchdown. Ryan and Sarkisian were finally clicking to get the passing game firing on all cylinders.
Jones was bound to make his mark. It took some time, but a 58-yard reception off a well-timed play-action from another Ryan bomb did the trick for the future Hall of Fame wide receiver. Another rub route design from Sarkisian created an easy touchdown for Ryan to find Sanu on a sprint right. Add on multiple two-point conversions, and the Falcons scored 23 points in the second half.
It still somehow wasn’t enough. While Ryan will wish he had gotten the ball out a half-second quicker before A.J. Klein hit him to find Sanu on third down, there is no way one failed third-down conversion should put Ryan at fault for a devastating defeat. The Saints went on to produce multiple 80+ yard touchdown drives that left Dan Quinn in disarray.
For his defense to be completely dominated by their biggest rivals, while Ryan threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns, should be incomprehensible. It wasn’t for a franchise that was at the start of a massive decline. As Ryan was playing at a top-tier level in the prime of his career, the defensive infrastructure began to fall apart.
Losing key players to injuries certainly affected the unit in 2018. Even when some of them returned in 2018 and eventually 2019, the unit was nowhere near good enough to help Ryan get the franchise back to the playoffs. To make this game further painful, Ryan made history by having the best passer rating ever for a quarterback on the losing team.
That exemplifies the atrocious defensive performances during Ryan’s final years in his prime, which were one of the primary reasons Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff were eventually fired in October 2020.
The Matt Ryan Masterclass Series List
