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Falcons Crush Jaguars, 41-14, Improving Playoff Hopes

Matt Ryan threw three touchdown passes in less than three quarters of work, John Abraham had 3 ½ sacks and the Falcons clinched a fourth straight winning season with a 41-14 rout of the visiting on Thursday.

“Hopefully, we can play like we did tonight for the next couple weeks,” Ryan said.

This one was over by halftime. Atlanta (9-5) led by 27-0 when the teams trotted to the locker room. Blaine Gabbert and the shellshocked Jaguars (4-10) were saddled with a net passing total of minus-1 yard, and the Falcons were well on the way to strengthening their hold on an N.F.C. wild-card spot.

Gabbert had one of his worst games in a miserable rookie season, coughing up the ball twice on hits by Abraham. Both fumbles led to Atlanta scores, with defensive tackle Corey Peters scooping up the second one and trotting to the end zone early in the third quarter for a touchdown that ended any thought of the Jaguars getting back in the game.

“It wasn’t just me,” Abraham said. “The whole team was able to get to the quarterback.”

Ryan was 19 of 26 for 224 yards and 3 touchdowns, with a season-high quarterback rating of 137.3. Roddy White caught two of the scoring passes, Julio Jones the other.

Gabbert was 12 of 22 for 141 yards, also throwing an interception to cap a truly awful night of running for his life and making bad decisions. He got most of his yards on a meaningless final drive, hitting Chastin West on a 16-yard touchdown with 59 seconds to go. Jacksonville’s other touchdown came on a blocked punt after trailing, 41-0.

The injury-riddled Jaguars, playing out the season with an interim coach and a new owner, were coming off their best game of the season, having scored 41 straight points in a 41-14 victory over Tampa Bay. But, playing their third game in 11 days, they could not build any momentum toward closing out the season on a high note.

Michael Turner burst off left guard for 15 yards on the first play of the game, and the Falcons were off and running. Ryan capped the opening drive by stepping up to avoid the pressure, flipping a short pass to Jones, then watching the rookie turn on an impressive burst of speed for a 29-yard touchdown.

PLAN FOR TEBOW The New England Patriots say they are preparing for the ’ the way they do for any quarterback — by learning what he does well and what he does poorly and taking advantage of that knowledge.

There’s a big problem, though. Tebow is not like any other quarterback. “He’s a very unique person,” said Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who played with Tebow at Florida. “He’s a leader.”

Tebow has led the Broncos to a 7-1 record in his eight starts since they opened at 1-4. Their 8-5 mark going into Sunday’s home game against the Patriots leads the A.F.C. West.

New England has allowed the most yards in the N.F.L. despite a 10-3 record. The Patriots will have to be disciplined to deal with the scrambling Tebow.

“Anytime you have a quarterback that’s mobile, it definitely is a challenge for a defense,” said Patriots defensive back Nate Jones, a teammate of Tebow’s last season.

BROTHERLY ADVICE Before San Francisco 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh started his preparation for Steelers week, he had an important phone call to make to learn the ins and outs of how to beat Pittsburgh: to Baltimore’s coach and his big brother, John.

The Ravens have won both of their meetings this season against the Steelers in what has evolved into one of the N.F.L.’s fiercest rivalries. And Monday night’s matchup between San Francisco and Pittsburgh has plenty of meaning to Baltimore, which is tied with the Steelers atop the A.F.C. North standings and trying to win the division.

John Harbaugh asked a team official to make sure he was allowed to help his brother with any insight. “I know for a fact a lot of coaches have spent a lot of time talking about us before they play us,” John Harbaugh said. “So I’m sure we’ll try to help him in some way if we can.”

Ryan, Abraham Lead Falcons to 41-14 Rout of Jags

Maybe they’ll get it right this season.

With their best effort of an up-and-down season, the Falcons clinched a fourth straight winning record with a 41-14 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night. Matt Ryan had another big game, throwing three touchdown passes in less than three quarters of work, and John Abraham terrorized rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert with 3½ sacks.

“I feel like we’ve hit our stride,” said Roddy White, who had 10 catches for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

A year ago, the Falcons won the NFC South with a conference-leading 13 wins. But they were one-and-done in the playoffs, blown out at home by the Green Bay Packers in the division round.

The Packers went on to claim the title and haven’t lost since.

Atlanta would like to follow their lead.

“You know, Green Bay did a heck of a job last year peaking at the right time,” White said. “I feel like we haven’t hit our stride. The last two games, we’ve been hitting it.”

Atlanta led 27-0 at halftime and stretched it out to 41-0 before Jacksonville scored on a blocked punt. Going back to the previous week, when the Falcons overcame a 16-point halftime deficit at Carolina, they ripped off 65 points in a row over five quarters.

Now that’s more like it from a team that was projected as a Super Bowl contender but had not quite lived up to expectations.

Atlanta (9-5) strengthened its hold on an NFC wild card and clinched its fourth straight winning season.

Ho hum. This team has much higher goals than finishing above .500.

“I’m glad we’ve been able to accomplish that as an organization and a football team,” coach Mike Smith said. “But believe me, it’s not one of those expectations we really want to talk about. If we’re where we think we are as an organization and a football team, that’s expected each and every year.”

It wasn’t so long ago that nine victories was a big deal. The Falcons went through the first 42 years of their existence without so much as back-to-back winning seasons.

All that changed when Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff took over in 2008.

“I can’t speak to the people who came before, but I know since Thomas and I had the opportunity to be here, we’ve just kind of put our heads down and gone to work,” the coach said. “When you do that, good things usually happen. We are not finished, believe me. Our expectations and internal goals are much higher than having a winning football season.”

This one was over by halftime, Gabbert and the shell-shocked Jaguars (4-10) saddled with a net passing total of minus-1 yard. It got as bad as minus-29 before Jacksonville piled up some meaningless yards on its final two possessions.

Gabbert had one of his worst games in a miserable rookie season, coughing up the ball twice on hits by Abraham. Both fumbles led to Atlanta scores, with defensive tackle Corey Peters scooping up the second one and scooting 13 yards to the end zone early in the third quarter for a touchdown that ended any thought of the Jaguars getting back in the game.

“It wasn’t just me,” said Abraham, who came into the game with only five sacks on the season. “The whole team was able to get to the quarterback.”

Ryan was 19 of 26 for 224 yards and three touchdowns, with a season-high rating of 137.3. Rookie Julio Jones had the other TD on a 29-yard reception, his third score in the past two weeks.

Gabbert was 12 of 22 for 141 yards, also throwing an interception during a truly awful night full of bad decisions when he wasn’t running for his life. He was sacked five times and got most of his yards on an irrelevant final drive, which resulted in Jacksonville’s only offensive touchdown: a 16-yard pass to Chastin West with 59 seconds remaining.

“It wasn’t our best night,” Gabbert said. “We’ve just got to learn from it, take the positives out of it and just get better.”

The injury-riddled Jaguars, playing out the season with an interim coach and a new owner, were coming off their best performance, having scored 41 straight points in a 41-14 victory over Tampa Bay. But, playing for the third time in 11 days, they couldn’t build any momentum for a strong finish.

Shahid Khan must have been wondering why he paid an estimated $760 million to buy the team from original Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver in a deal that was unanimously approved by NFL owners a day earlier.

Michael Turner had a 5-yard touchdown run and Matt Bryant kicked a pair of field goals to account for Atlanta’s other scoring in the 41-point barrage.

“We didn’t execute good against a good team and you saw what happened,” Lewis said. “Nothing really more to it. Things got out of hand way too fast and we weren’t able to recover.

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Falcons Beat Lions 23-16 Behind Ryan’s 2 TDs

Matt Ryan ran and threw for touchdowns to give Atlanta a double-digit lead in the first half, and the Falcons held on to win 23-16 in Detroit on Sunday.

The defending NFC South champion-Falcons (4-3) won consecutive games for the first time this season because they finally played well in all three phases on the same day.

“Good teams go on streaks,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “You can’t just keep yo-yoing up and down.”

The Lions (5-2) have lost their luster with two straight losses — both at home — after their perfect start. Their formerly fired-up fans have started to boo, moan and groan.

“We don’t deserve their cheers if we’re going to play like that,” Lions guard Rob Sims said. “It’s just that simple.”

The Lions had a chance to get Ford Field back on their side.

But on Detroit’s final drive, a pass-interference penalty against Atlanta was overturned because instant replay showed defensive tackle Corey Peters had slightly grazed the ball.

“I didn’t see the tip, but the guys in the booth were in my ear about it right away,” Smith said. “With less than 2 minutes, we had to rely on the officials, but they did a great job. They didn’t let the Lions snap the ball, so the replay official could get a good look, and they made the right call.”

Instead of having the ball at the Falcons 26, the Lions were backed up to the 41 and Matthew Stafford threw an incomplete pass on the next play to turn it over on downs and injured his right ankle, knee — or both.

“To tell the truth I can’t really tell right now,” Stafford said.

Stafford said he was going to try and play if Detroit’s defense got the ball back, but the Falcons made that a moot point by picking up a first down and running out the clock.

Ryan’s 1-yard plunge and 18-yard pass to Roddy White put Atlanta ahead 17-6 at halftime.

Calvin Johnson caught his 10th touchdown pass late in the third quarter — to pull Detroit within four points — and finished with five receptions for 115 yards.

Matt Bryant’s third field goal gave the Falcons a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter on a drive extended when safety Louis Delmas was called for holding on fourth down.

The Lions, who struggled against Atlanta’s aggressive defense all day, had the ball at their 13 with 3:20 to go and three timeouts left with a chance to send the game into overtime.

Stafford converted a fourth down with a pass to Brandon Pettigrew, and a personal foul against Atlanta left the Lions 41 yards away from the end zone. They wouldn’t get any closer.

Detroit didn’t get another chance to come back because it couldn’t tackle rookie running back Jacquizz Rodgers on third-and-4 near midfield.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz and Smith met at midfield after the game in traditional fashion a week after Schwartz had to be separated from San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh in a charged scene.

Ryan was 20 of 34 for 218 yards with a TD and two interceptions and scored on a 1-yard plunge to break a 3-all tie late in the first quarter. He left the game briefly when teammate Will Svitek stepped on his left ankle, tweaking his knee.

“It hurt, but I don’t think it was bad as it must have looked on television,” Ryan said.

Atlanta’s Tony Gonzalez caught five passes for 62 yards, giving him 1,104 career receptions to trail only Jerry Rice in NFL history — by 445 catches.

“Trust me, Jerry Rice will never be caught,” the 35-year-old Gonzalez said. “I’m very happy with second place.”

Michael Turner ran 27 times — including a 50-yard gain — and finished with 122 yards rushing for the Falcons.

Stafford was 15 of 32 for 183 yards and a TD against consistent pressure, getting sacked three times and hurried after several more snaps.

“I was very pleased with the way we made it hectic and chaotic for the quarterback,” Smith said.

Detroit’s Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams combined for 94 yards on 18 carries, filling in for Jahvid Best, who was out with a concussion.

The Lions struggled on special teams. They gave up long returns — one of which went for a score but was negated by penalty — and Stefan Logan fumbled on a kickoff to set up Ryan’s TD run.

Schwartz said Detroit couldn’t overcome missed opportunities on offense, defense and special teams against the Falcons.

“They were 13-3 last year and they’re going to be a good team again this year,” he said.

Notes: Gonzalez moved past Cris Carter (1,101) and Marvin Harrison (1,102). … Scheffler and Lions LB Justin Durant played after being out with concussions and Lions CB Chris Houston aggravated his back injury. … Atlanta WR Julio Jones (left hamstring) and LT Sam Baker (lower back) were inactive. … Johnson has the most TD receptions (10) through the first seven games of a season since Randy Moss had as many with New England in 2007 and is one short of the total Elroy Hirsch had with the Rams in 1951 and Frank Clarke in 1962 with the Cowboys, according to STATS LLC.