Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints: Matt Ryan is the x-factor

The Atlanta Falcons travel to the Big Easy to do battle with the New Orleans Saints. Luckily for the Falcons, their quarterback is about to have a huge game.

Around the NFL there is a perception that Matt Ryan is not a great road quarterback.

In this article, I won’t be debating the claim that Ryan plays much better at home than on the road. What I will do, however, is explain why Matt Ryan will have the game of his life this week.

Coming into the Atlanta Falcons’ Week 3 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, the Falcons have dropped the last two games against the Saints.

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When examining these two games, the former being played on Jan 6, 2016, and the latter being played on Oct. 15, 2015, Ryan was excellent in both.

In fact, when combining his statistics the last two times the Falcons played the Saints, Ryan threw for 629 yards, four scores, and one interception.

Now, these statistics are from last season. It is easily argued that both teams are different from last season. Once again, that is something I will not argue. What I will claim is that the Saints pass defense is worse this season compared to last season.

In this season alone, through two games, the Saints have allowed a total of 666 passing yards.

Put blatantly, the weapons around Ryan will give him too much firepower for the Saints to come close to stopping. If Saints try to double cover Julio Jones, Ryan goes to Mohamed Sanu. If the wideouts are covered, Ryan plays pitch-and-catch and throws to tight end Jacob Tamme.

If these past two weeks are any indication of the performance of both teams, the Falcons will be putting up another win in the standings courtesy of Matt Ryan.

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