Atlanta Falcons Walk Straight Through Jacksonville Jaguars: Fan’s View

The 2011 Atlanta Falcons have been disappointing for much of the season. It's hard to say that a team sitting at 8-5 and in the fifth spot of the NFC playoff picture has been disappointing, but they are a team that can easily be 10-3 or even 11-2 right now. Heading into the Thursday Night Football showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Falcons needed an all-around quality performance, and that is what they got.

In the first quarter, quarterback Matt Ryan was unstoppable and connected with rookie wide out Julio Jones for a 29-yard score on their opening drive. The touchdown was the fifth of Jones' season and gave the Falcons a quick 7-0 lead. They then added a field goal to make it 10-0. On the defensive side of the ball, John Abraham and Sean Weatherspoon both looked amazing for the Falcons, showing that the unit may not have names, but they have talent.
AdChoices

To start the second quarter, Ryan didn't look as sharp as he did to start the game, making me wonder if this was going to be another Falcons collapse, but he turned it around. The Falcons caught a break near the start of the second quarter, with Weatherspoon recovering a muffed punt deep in Jacksonville territory. One play later and Michael Turner was in the end zone, giving Atlanta a 17-0 lead. Late in the second quarter, the Falcons were in Jacksonville territory and needed a score, and got it when Ryan connected with Roddy White from six yards out.

With the Jaguars on offense to start the second half, the Falcons defense allowed a nice run to a hobbled Maurice Jones-Drew, but the opening drive was stopped when Abraham sacked rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert again. The sack knocked the ball out, allowing Corey Peters to recover the football and return it 13 yards for a touchdown.

After a costly late hit penalty on the Jaguars, Ryan connected with White for a 29-yard score, giving the Falcons a 41-0 lead. At this point in the game, it didn't look like the Falcons were going to do anything wrong, which is an added confidence boost the team needed. However, late in the third quarter, the Jaguars blocked a Matt Bosher punt, which Zach Potter returned 46-yards for a score.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Falcons rested Ryan, Turner and several other offensive stars, not needing to take any chances.

The Falcons just proved to be too much for the Jaguars in this game, with Ryan, White, Jones, Abraham and Weatherspoon all excelling. The Falcons forced four takeaways and had five sacks against the overmatched Jaguars offense, allowing only a "garbage time" score with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter.

With the 41-14 victory, the Falcons improved to 9-5, keeping their hopes of winning the NFC South intact. The Jaguars fell to 4-10, and will have to decide if they think Gabbert is the quarterback of their future. With Jones-Drew, the Jaguars need to find a star quarterback to hand the ball off, and if Gabbert plays anything like he did against the Falcons, he won't be that guy.source