3 Falcons up, 3 Falcons down in Week 7 win over Giants

The Atlanta Falcons improved to 3-4 with a 23-20 win over the New York Giants Monday night.

Who’s up and who’s down in the victory?

Up

Matt Ryan

Another game, another 350-yard, no-turnover performance for Ryan. The Falcons quarterback was scorching all game, and he completed his final 18 passes in a row. He finished with 379 yards and a touchdown on 31 of 41 passing. Ryan’s actually putting up better numbers at this point than he did during his MVP campaign in 2016. If only his offensive line could keep him upright.

Giorgio Tavecchio

You couldn’t ask for a better showing from Tavecchio. The newly-signed kicker drilled two 50-yard field goals with ease, one being a 56-yarder to give the Falcons a 23-12 lead late in the fourth quarter. Not a bad outing for a guy tasked with (temporarily) filling Matt Bryant’s shoes.

Grady Jarrett

It didn’t take long for Jarrett to make his presence felt. He racked up two sacks and was generally disruptive. The Falcons sorely missed him when he was out of the lineup.

Down

Robert Alford

It was a very rough outing for Alford. He was torched constantly by both Odell Beckham and Sterling Shepard and also added two defensive holding penalties. Atlanta absolutely needs him to play better. Hopefully the bye week will help him turn things around.

Offensive line

Atlanta has too much invested in this unit for it to play like it has. Allowing third down sacks and being unable to open holes in the running game are both inexcusable. Specifically, Jake Matthews had held his own, but Ryan Schraeder, who at one point was one of the league’s best right tackles, has taken a steep nosedive. This unit has to keep Ryan upright to give the Falcons the best chance at winning.

Vic Beasley

Beasley is probably the league leader in almost-sacks.