The Atlanta Falcons advanced their record to 9-5, helping to solidify their playoff position, with a dominating victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Falcons built up a 41-0 lead by the third quarter, before Jacksonville scored late in a game that wasn’t even as close as the final 41-14 score would indicate.
Matt Ryan finished the game going 19 of 26 (73 percent) for 224 yards and 3 TDs, with a passer rating of 137.3. Roddy White was the major recipient of the wealth, catching 10 balls for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rookie Julio Jones added 5 receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown. Michael Turner added 61 yards on 19 carries, including a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter.
The Falcons capitalized on four Jacksonville turnovers – 1 interception and 3 fumbles – as their defense was as dominating as their offense. 305-pound defensive tackle Corey Peters scored on a 13-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown following a sack and fumble by Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert.
Gabbert continued his difficult rookie season, having one of the worst outings he’s had all season, finishing 12 of 22 for 141 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT, plus he lost two fumbles and was sacked five times in the game. His sole touchdown came with 0:59 seconds left in the game on a 16-yard pass to Chastin West.
“It wasn’t our best night,” Gabbert said. “We’ve just got to learn from it, take the positives out of it and just get better.”
Gabbert added, “I can’t take those sacks and those fumbles. That’s completely on me.” Coming in to the season, Gabbert was believed to be the most NFL-ready of a strong crop of rookie quarterbacks, but with several of them getting considerable playing time this season (Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder, T.J. Yates), Gabbert has had the worst season of any quarterback in the league with the 32nd best passer rating and a 50.6 percent completion percentage.
Maurice Jones-Drew was the lone bright spot for the Jaguars, as he rushed 17 times for 122 yards, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, but with the ineffective passing game and all the turnovers, Jones-Drew had very little help.
“I feel like we’ve hit our stride,” said Roddy White. And the Falcons are hitting their stride at just the right time, in anticipation of a strong playoff run. The Falcons were 13-3 last season, but they drew the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Packers were the team that hit a late stride last season, losing two December games before winning their last two games and entering the playoffs on a tear. The Falcons have now won two in a row, scoring 72 points combined in the last two games.
The Falcons are now a game and a half behind the 10-3 New Orleans Saints in the NFC South, but they are one step closer to locking up one of the two Wild Card spots in the NFC. They are half a game up on the Detroit Lions, and have a solid lead over all the other contenders with only two games to go. The stretch is tough for Atlanta, though, as they face the Saints next weekend on Monday night with a chance to make a bid at the division title, before ending the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
