3 biggest reasons for the Atlanta Falcons first win
By Justin Lee
The Atlanta Falcons earned their first win of the season against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Atlanta Falcons won their first game and Falcons fans aren’t surprised. A question a lot of people may be asking their selves is how exactly did they win this game?
Was it because of a new coaching situation?
Did the defense finally step up?
Was it because Matt Ryan had his best friend in Julio Jones back and healthy?
Well, no one really knows the exact answer if we are being honest. However, all of those reasons are factors.
A healthy Julio Jones is back for the Atlanta Falcons
This weekend Julio Jones returned to the field after dealing with a hamstring injury. It was almost as if he didn’t miss a beat.
Julio put up what average receivers would call a monster game, but Falcons fans call it an average Julio game. He exploded for 137 yards on eight receptions with two touchdowns and looked explosive in his return. Jones had a few plays that reminded us all why he is often regarded as the best receiver in the NFL.
A question coming into this game was thought to be his speed, especially since he had been dealing with a hamstring injury. Well, after the 40-yard touchdown I think those thoughts went away for most fans.
Matt Ryan played nearly perfect for the Atlanta Falcons
Since fans couldn’t talk about Dan Quinn anymore, I noticed a lot of hatred and disrespect being pointed at Matt Ryan.
No, he hasn’t played his best throughout this losing streak, but the streak has not been 100 percent his fault. Most of it can be attributed to coaching and some of it to injuries. But the bottom line is that Matt Ryan balled out. He finished with 371 yards on 30-40 passing, along with four touchdowns.
Matt Ryan took advantage of Julio being back and it was obvious, as he targeted him ten times in the game. If Ryan can keep playing at this level, it could help Atlanta get closer to fighting for a wildcard spot.
Raheem Morris as interim head coach
Now that Dan Quinn is out, some fans expected an immediate change for this team and they certainly got that Sunday afternoon.
Well, so far it looks like that’s what they are going to get. The Atlanta Falcons played harder this past weekend. They competed and worked their tails off. If they can do this every game, the Falcons win a few more games this season.
Morris handing the defense over to Jeff Ulbrich was a huge decision at the moment looks to have been the biggest change. The Falcons turned the Vikings over three times in the first half Sunday thanks to Ulbrich’s game plan.
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The Falcons are finally getting after it on defense, and their offense looks crisp with Julio back. Either way, the Falcons will need to prepare for a Lions team that is coming off of a dominant performance themselves.