How are you feeling this morning, Falcons fans? Good? Yep — us as well. The Atlanta Falcons secured a home win over the division rival Carolina Panthers, and all is right to start the week. Speaking of starting the week: take a gander at below’s Falcoholinks for Monday.
Matt Ryan’s elite evening
Matt Ryan had an unequivocally awful game in Philadelphia last week, but against Carolina he was absolutely lights out. Save for one pick and a couple of overthrows, Ryan looked as icey as ever, and in the win over the Panthers he did something only two other quarterbacks have ever done.
Matt Ryan does something Joe Flacco never could #elite #elite #elite #elite https://t.co/w3kKNohqxr
— Oh no we suck again! (@FalcoholicMatt) September 17, 2018
Elite numbers for an elite player and an all around elite guy. It should come as no surprise, however, as Matt Ryan was reanimated Saturday afternoon and not even Steve Sarkisian’s hidden shanks of Valyrian Steel could slow him down.
Damontae Kazee’s dumb, dangerous play
Anyone who attempts to sugarcoat this is dealing in bad faith. Bottom line: Damontae Kazee’s late hit on Cam Newton was reckless, dangerous, and ridiculous when you consider the state of the Falcons’ defensive backfield entering this game. Not only did he nearly take Newton’s head off, he also put Atlanta in an extremely bad spot once he was rightfully ejected. Intent doesn’t matter.
Thankfully Cam was able to return to the game after a brief exam in the tent, but don’t be surprised if Kazee is handed a suspension after this. Damontae’s aggression and physicality make him an asset on this team, but he must know when to dial it back going forward.
Andy Levitre’s elbow ailment
In a blow to the offensive line, left guard Andy Levitre left yesterday’s game with an elbow injury and would not return. Levitre was limited in practice this week with the same injury, so he aggravated it at some point against the Panthers.
In a surprising — and welcome — turn of events, Wes Schweitzer filled in admirably in his stead, giving Matt Ryan plenty of time to engineer the offense. We’ll hope it’s something minor and Andy Levitre is back in short order.
Dave Choate’s Sunday summary
Need an abridged version of the Falcons’ victory over the Panthers? Dave’s got you. It was all mostly good, and Atlanta improves to 1-1 and looks to another divisional clash Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.