Written by Brian Pohl
Atlanta, GA- Following a disappointing Thanksgiving Day loss to their NFC South rival in the New Orleans Saints, the Atlanta Falcons return home to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to try and get back in the win column against the Baltimore Ravens.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn on his team’s preparation ahead of the matchup with the Ravens, “We had good meetings today and preparation for today. All the preparation for Baltimore, we have a ton of respect for the matchups, but at the end of it, I also told them, comes down to us and our execution.” He continued, “we’re ready to get rocking and it’s going to be a hell of a game.”
Sitting at 4-7 on the season, the playoffs are out for reach for the Falcons, but the season isn’t over, and they will have a chance to play the role of spoilers against a Ravens team that is right in the thick of a playoff race, but it won’t be an easy task for Atlanta.
Leading the Falcons offense is veteran quarterback Matt Ryan. The former MVP is having a big year, throwing 24 touchdowns to just five interceptions. Ryan and the offense will have a difficult matchup against the Ravens defense, and the Falcons leader will have to do a great job distributing the ball around quickly if they are going to have success getting down the field.
Ryan on the matchup with Ravens, who boast one of the NFL’s top defenses, “They’re certainly playing really well on the defensive side of the ball. I think you mentioned they’re number one in points allowed, number one in yards allowed. They’ve just been stingy, they do a nice job in terms of using different looks. In terms of pressure packages and blitz packages, they have a number of different ways to get after you both in the run game and in the passing game. So, we’ve got to play well up front for sure, and at all positions, we have to play well.
Flanking Ryan is one of the NFL’s top receiving groups, led by star wideout in Julio Jones. The NFL’s receiving leader has been torching defenses all season to the tune of 1,305 receiving yards, and Jones will try to continue his elite work against a Ravens defense that has allowed just 295.4 yards per game to opposing offenses.
For the Ravens, a major change has happened on the offensive side of the ball as head coach John Harbaugh has named rookie quarterback, and 2016 Heisman winner, Lamar Jackson as the starter over veteran Joe Flacco. The change comes at a difficult part of the season, as the Ravens are in the playoff hunt and will now look to their rookie standout as the guy to lead them there.
Coach Quinn evaluated Jackson’s ability saying, “One, I see his ability able to throw it on the move. I think that’s an added element that you see, okay, he can run boots and keepers to go. It’s important to be able to run those and break contain but it’s the more explosive plays comes on the boots where you’re able to rip them down the field. So, I see an accurate passer, I see a guy with a quick release that can get rid of the ball to the proper guys so that’s what I’ve seen so far.”
Jackson will lead a Ravens offense against a Falcons defense that has been riddled by injuries throughout the year, and allowed fellow rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield to throw three touchdowns against them just three weeks ago.
This is a great opportunity for the Falcons to play a bit of spoiler to a Ravens team that is squarely in the playoff hunt and should be a fun matchup between two squads that have a lot of talent on both sides of the field.
The Falcons and Ravens will kick off Sunday at 1:00 p.m. from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.
