Atlanta Falcons: 3 Players whose stock dropped in Week 6 loss

1. Matt Ryan, QB

One of the biggest reasons for comfort after losing offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was how much Matt Ryan had grown as a leader. On Sunday, he started to bring some serious questions to that idea.

In the second half, the Dolphins slowly eliminated the Falcons’ lead and upset them with the three-point win. Their offense wasn’t anything spectacular, it was just a lack of sustained drives by Atlanta. Before their nine-play desperation drive at the end of the game, Atlanta had just one possession that wasn’t a three-and-out in the second half. Even that drive wasn’t great as Atlanta moved 27 yards in eight plays.

Their inability to do anything with the ball was bad, but even worse was the throw Ryan forced at the end of the game. With a first-and-10 at the Miami 23, Ryan forced a pass into double coverage. It was tipped by rookie corner Cordrea Tankersley and picked off by safety Reshad Jones.

Next: Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami: Game Recap

With timeouts remaining and 47 seconds still on the clock, there was no reason to go for the deep ball, and surely no reason to throw it into coverage — especially to tight end Austin Hooper. Ryan now has six picks and six touchdowns. It’s been a bad season for him.