Ryan Still Confident in Falcons’ Offense

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Matt Ryan and the Falcons are expecting better offensive production in Atlanta’s important final regular-season game against Carolina.

The Falcons can win the NFC South division title and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs by beating the on Sunday. A loss wouldn’t be the end to the season, but it would definitely take away much of the luster.

Ryan has thrived in clutch situations this season, but when his last two passes fell incomplete in Atlanta’s loss to New Orleans Monday night, it put new importance on Sunday’s contest against the Panthers.

Ryan’s nickname gained popularity as he led Atlanta to six wins this season with go-ahead scores in the fourth quarter or overtime. “Matty Ice” needs another strong showing Sunday.

Ryan said the 17-14 loss to the showed that late-game victories can’t be taken for granted.

“There’s nothing given,” Ryan said Thursday. “There’s nothing automatic in this league. But with that said, we have the same expectation that in a tight game, late in the game, we’re going to make the plays that we need to win. We just didn’t do that at the end of the last game. We had some chances and just didn’t make the plays that we needed to.

“It’s a learning experience. It keeps us motivated and hopefully we do a better job of it this week.”

Ryan’s clutch performances helped lead to his first Pro Bowl selection this week. Late-game heroics from Ryan have become so common Atlanta players say they were shocked to see the Falcons stopped late in the loss to the Saints.

“There was never a doubt in our mind we were going to win,” said fullback Ovie Mughelli. “It just didn’t happen in this game. It hurt so much because we’re so used to winning after eight wins in a row.

“We fully expected to drive down there and somehow to at least get in field goal range. When it didn’t happen, I think a lot of us were stunned.”

The Falcons were held to 215 total yards and Ryan completed 15 of 29 passes for only 148 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

The Saints contained Roddy White, who leads the NFL with 109 catches. White was shadowed by an extra defensive back and had only three catches for 43 yards, including a 7-yard catch for a touchdown.

The Falcons say they must do a better job with their running game and passing to tight end Tony Gonzalez and receivers Michael Jenkins and Douglas when defenses focus on White.

The Falcons have five newly named Pro Bowl players from their offense: Ryan, Mughelli, Turner, White and Gonzalez. Ryan said an offense with so many weapons shouldn’t be held to 14 points.

“I think we just need to play better,” Ryan said. “We had opportunities to take advantage of some of the things they were doing against us, and we just didn’t play well enough.

“I think it comes down to us. … We need to execute better and if we do that we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

Falcons coach Mike Smith said the Panthers may try defensive strategies that worked for the Saints, including extra attention on White.

“That’s been going on for quite some time and over the last couple of weeks probably more snaps of it,” Smith said. “Again, when you’re a Pro Bowl player and you have the production Roddy has, you’re going to get that attention.

“We have to be prepared to make sure we have a plan to offset that. … I think when they take something away they’re going to leave something open, and we’ve got to make sure we can find it and go ahead and execute because they can’t take everything away.”

The Falcons won 31-10 at Carolina on Dec. 12.

If Carolina beats Atlanta and New Orleans beats Tampa Bay, the Falcons would lose home-field advantage and the first-round bye.

Ryan said there’s no danger of taking the Panthers lightly with so much on the line.

“I think everybody in here knows what’s at stake,” Ryan said. “We don’t need to talk about it. I don’t think anybody is looking further than this week.”

Notes: White and LB Curtis Lofton were given routine days off from practice. DT Jonathan Babineaux (shoulder) and center Todd McClure (ankle) also did not practice. DE (groin) and DE Kroy Biermann (calf) were limited. … Smith said he was proud to have seven players on the Pro Bowl team. He mentioned Babineaux, PK Matt Bryant and OT Tyson Clabo as also deserving.

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Saints Awaken vs. Falcons and Put N.F.C. on Notice

Their defense was not the turnover machine it was last year. Quarterback has thrown inexplicable interceptions. Injuries bedeviled the running game. Garrett Hartley — the kicker who made the overtime field goal that sent them to the Super Bowl last winter — missed a field goal that would have given the Saints an over their division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, and a leg up in the N.F.C. race.

Last season, the Saints were so dominant they did not lose a game until Week 15. This season, they entered Week 16 in Atlanta at risk of missing the playoffs altogether. But on Monday night, the Saints righted themselves after another mysterious game — all defense by both teams, two stunning fourth-quarter interceptions by Brees — by summoning some of the magic from 2009 to beat the Falcons, .

Brees went back to being Brees just in time, completing seven consecutive passes on the 90-yard winning drive, including a 6-yard touchdown pass on third-and-3 with 3 minutes 24 seconds remaining.

This was a shot-across-the-bow-victory for the Saints. It not only put them back into the playoffs, but it also shattered the Falcons’ sense of invincibility at home, where they had not lost this season (including victories over playoff-caliber teams like the , the and the ) and had lost just once in Matt Ryan’s three seasons as the quarterback.

“They were the better team tonight,” Falcons Coach Mike Smith said.

The Saints (11-4) are unlikely to enjoy the comforts of their raucous home, which bolstered their run last season.

The Saints’ victory means four teams are alive for home-field advantage in the N.F.C. Despite losing, the Falcons (12-3) have the easiest path to it, needing only to beat the lowly on Sunday to secure the N.F.C.’s top seed.

The outcome also narrowed the options for the Giants. For them to make the playoffs, the Giants must beat the on Sunday and root for the to beat the Packers. That would make the Giants the N.F.C.’s sixth seed and likely set up a rematch with the , who are likely to be the third seed behind the Falcons and the Bears.

Still, the road to the Super Bowl in the N.F.C. may have to go around the Saints, and this is bad news for the rest of the conference, which would probably have sent a lovely fruit basket to the team that knocked the Saints out of the playoff picture.

Instead, the Saints cannot finish lower than the fifth seed, which would set up a first-round game against the winner — survivor is more accurate — of the N.F.C. West.

The and the play for that title Sunday night, and if the Seahawks win, they will be the first team to win a division with a losing record in a full season. The Saints demolished the Rams and the Seahawks in the past six weeks.

Winning three in a row on the road to reach the Super Bowl is tough. But the Saints just damaged one opponent’s considerable home-field advantage.

“Let the good times roll” is a civic motto for New Orleans. The rest of the N.F.C. does not want to see the Saints roll into their town for the playoffs.

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Falcons Eager to Send Message to Super Bowl Champs

The defending champs have been looking up at the Atlanta Falcons for more than two months.

About time for the New Orleans Saints to send a message.

“We’ve got an opportunity late in the year to maybe re-establish the balance of power,” fullback Heath Evans said. “They came to our house and beat us the first time, and now we’ve got the test to try to do that to them. It won’t be an easy one, for sure.”

New Orleans (10-4) lost to the Falcons at home in the opening month of the season and has trailed the Falcons in the NFC South ever since an upset loss to Cleveland on Oct. 24.

While the Saints have won six out of seven since then, Atlanta (12-2) hasn’t stumbled at all. An eight-game winning streak has the Falcons on the verge of wrapping up their first division title since 2004 and home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs.

They can accomplish both with a victory Monday night over their biggest rival.

“That’s a lot of good things,” Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan said. “When you put yourself in good position all year, you know games are going to mean something down the stretch. There’s certainly a lot at stake. … We know that.”

The Falcons have even given themselves some margin for error. They’ve already locked up a playoff spot. Even if they lose to the Saints, they will merely need to beat Carolina (2-13) at home in the regular-season finale to lock up everything that’s at stake in this one.

But New Orleans isn’t the only team trying to send a message Monday night.

“You never want to leave any doubt,” said Roddy White, the Falcons star receiver and chief provocateur. “That’s the tone in our locker room. We want to beat these guys again, because we don’t want to leave any doubt. You never want to lose to a team, then have them come back and play you again.”

Indeed, both teams realize there’s a very real possibility they’ll be facing each other again in a few weeks in the playoffs.

“We definitely want to finish this season off strong,” New Orleans running back Reggie Bush said. “The playoffs are coming up and if we’re able to beat Atlanta and kind of leave something in the back of their minds for the potential rematch in the playoffs, then that’s what we want to do.”

Atlanta comes in with an eight-game winning streak, its longest run since reaching the only Super Bowl in franchise history during the 1998 season.

The Falcons clearly believe they can make it back again, and they’ve sure put themselves in the best possible position with just two games left before the playoffs. One more win ensures a first-round bye and means they wouldn’t have to play another game away from the Georgia Dome this season — unless they make it to Dallas for the title game.

Not a bad place to be, either. At home, the Falcons are 6-0 this season, 19-3 in Mike Smith’s three years as coach and 19-1 with Ryan as the starting quarterback.

“Obviously with the record we’ve been able to amass playing at home, it’s an advantage for us,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “We need to go out there and exploit it.”

The Saints had hoped to come into this game with a shot at tying for the division lead, but a loss at Baltimore last week left them two games behind the Falcons with two to play. New Orleans has yet to secure a playoff berth, either, and would prefer not to go into the season finale against Tampa Bay in a must-win situation.

Either way, the Saints know they’ll likely face a much tougher road to the Super Bowl than they had a year ago.

Road is the operative word here. Last season, New Orleans claimed its spot in the title game with a pair of playoff victories at the Superdome. This time, it’s likely to be three road games standing in the way of a return appearance, even if the Saints knock off the Falcons.

Of course, winning in Atlanta would be good experience for what New Orleans could face in the postseason.

“We have to go on the road in a place they’ve played extremely well in. We have to find a way to win,” quarterback said. “Indeed, if that becomes our journey in the playoffs, say if we’re a five seed on the road, we have to be able to go into hostile environments and win games in playoff atmospheres. This will be one of those atmospheres.”

Atlanta is playing at home for the first time since a Nov. 28 victory over . The Falcons are eager to clinch the fourth division title in franchise history in front of the home folks.

“We’ve been on the road for a long time,” Gonzalez said. “It’s going to be good to get back home.”

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