Atlanta Falcons News: Fallout from Falcons preseason opener
Good morning, Falcons fans. How good does that victory feel? It may only be preseason, but it’s nice to see the new Atlanta Falcons post a victory over the Tennessee Titans. More importantly, the starters performed at a high level. There’s plenty of reaction to the game this morning, so let’s get started.
Falcons beat Titans in Mariota’s debut — ESPN
"Mariota’s first two series ended with an interception and a fumble before he recovered to lead a touchdown drive in the Titans’ 31-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in a preseason opener Friday night."
Matt Ryan, Julio Jones look in regular season form — Vaughn McClure of ESPN
"The Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback-receiver combination worked to perfection during Friday night’s 31-24 exhibition win over the Tennessee Titans. Ryan completed all four of his passes to Jones, including a 13-yard touchdown connection, as he completed 6-of-6 passes for 86 yards in one series of work."
Antone Smith suffers hamstring injury — D. Orlando Ledbetter of AJC.com
"Falcons running back Antone Smith, who scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, injured his hamstring on the play Friday night and was not expected to return to the action."
NFL: Takeaways from Friday’s preseason action — Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report
"The score was a lot closer than it would have been had Atlanta’s reserves not entered early. The first quarter was all Falcons, with Atlanta racing to a 17-0 lead before the Titans made a game of it."
Fantasy Football preview: Atlanta Falcons — D.J. Foster of FOX Sports
"Atlanta’s “big three” was productive once again, but everyone else was mostly irrelevant from a fantasy prospective. That could change this year as there’s a heated running back battle between Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman and a new tight end in Jacob Tamme."