The Falcons lost their fifth game of the season yesterday. They are now 1-5 with a difficult slate of games ahead. In short, things are not going well. We’ll try to dissect why that is and find some kind of silver lining in the days ahead, but for now, let’s take a closer look at some of the best and worst individual performances from yesterday’s game.

3 Falcons Up

Matt Ryan

Ryan is here because he deserves to be here. It isn’t easy to watch your career window shrink while playing for a bad team. But Ryan, a consummate professional, isn’t going to take the easy way out. Ryan completed 30 of 36 passes for 356 passing yards and 4 touchdowns yesterday. That’s an impressive, historical line, notwithstanding the result. In fact, that’s arguably the best regular season performance by a losing quarterback in NFL history.

Grady Jarrett

Jarrett continues to play at an elite level, notwithstanding the mediocrity that surrounds him. I have no idea what motivates him, but Jarrett takes no plays off. None. And given the stubbornness Dan Quinn regularly exhibits in his attempts to effectively run this defense, it’s astounding to see Jarrett thriving. Jarrett just figures out how to adapt and be a contributor, no matter how many times Quinn sets up the defense to fail.

Austin Hooper

Hooper continues to dominate his competition, as he put up another strong performance in the Falcons loss. Hooper racked up 117 yards on 8 receptions, scoring once. Yesterday’s performance was his second game with over 100 yards receiving in the last 3 games. He hadn’t score since Week 3, but he’s caught 42 balls this season and is approaching (480) 500 receiving yards.

3 Falcons Down

The secondary

Some of Kyler Murray’s outstanding performance yesterday falls on the linebackers (I’m looking at you, De’Vondre Campbell), but the banged up secondary went out their way to make him look good. Murray had his best game as a professional, completing 27 of 37 passes for 340 passing yards (3 touchdowns).

Dan Quinn

Yup, he’s back. I can’t put together a list like this and not include Quinn. It seems his departure is a foregone conclusion now; it’s only a matter of when, not if, Arthur Blank will fire him. Whether you want the Falcons to ride it out with Quinn this season or are itching for his termination, there’s no denying this man’s fall from grace. It’s time to move on, Falcons fans.

Matt Bryant

I hate to put him here, because let’s be honest, Bryant didn’t cause the Falcons loss. His missed extra point did foil the Falcons comeback, however, and it’s a moment I’m sure he wishes he had back. In Bryant’s defense, over his last five seasons, Bryant has missed 4 of 167 extra point attempts. What’s more, he’s missed 8 over his entire career.

Your thoughts, Falcoholics?