Heading in to the first thursday night game of the year I will admit that I simply didn't have a lot of respect for Matt Ryan and the Falcons despite their 6-2 record heading in to the contest. That was until the Ravens scored 14 4th quarter points to take a 21-20 lead in the game's final stages. Ryan calmly lead his team in the two-minute drill down the field in a drive that culminated with a TD pass to Roddy White with less than 20 seconds to go in the game. I was impressed with the way the Falcons responded after blowing a lead in a game they largely dominated for 3 and 1/2 quarters against one of the top teams in the AFC.
Atlanta is now 7-2 and will most likely be considered the best team in the NFC over the course of the next week as the carousel NFL supremacy continues to rotate. I would not be surprised at all to see the NY Giants lay an egg this weekend after a week of being heralded as the best team in the NFC. I only say this because in the past few weeks every team that has been championed by the football media as the best team in the league or conference has fallen quickly. For instance you now have the Ravens this week, the Patriots last week who dropped a stinker to the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers the week before who lost in New Orleans and the Jets before them who got shut out at home against the Packers coming off their bye week.
Going back to Atlanta I will say that I love Matty Ice (and always have) and that this team is a force to be reckoned with when playing at home in the Georgia Dome. Ryan is now 18-1 in his first 19 home starts and this team just seems possessed there. However the Falcons have looked rather average on the road this season including a loss to the Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger and a bludgeoning at the hands of a Kevin Kolb lead Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. For now though Atlanta is solidifying their position at the top of the NFC and their likely not going away anytime soon.
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