The Atlanta Falcons defeated the Denver Broncos in front of their home crowd in a Monday Night Football showdown 27-21, and now have a 2-0 record.
The Falcons were led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who played terrific going 24 of 36 for 219 yards and two touchdowns without any interceptions. Ryan joins former Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski has the only quarterbacks to reach 100 touchdowns in franchise history.
Two of Ryan's favorite targets put up points for the Falcons. Roddy White had eight receptions for 102 yards and one touchdown catch, while 16-year veteran Tony Gonzalez had seven receptions for 70 yards and also had a touchdown reception.
Throughout the game the Falcons held control of the game as their offense produced 20 points in the first half.
The Falcons defense looked much improved forcing Peyton Manning to throw for three interceptions early in the game. The Falcons defensive pressure had no holes in the first half as they gave Manning little room to feel comfortable in the pocket.
For the Broncos it was a tough first half.
The offensive line often crumbled to the Falcons pass rush allowing Manning to be sacked three times to go along with his interceptions.
The second half went better for Manning as he began to look like the Manning most fans are familiar with.
Denver scored 14 points in the fourth quarter as Manning began to read the defense better and started avoiding pressure by calling audibles at the line.
Manning brought the game within six but the Broncos defense were not able to stop the run game Michael Turner, who had 42 yards in 17 carries for the game.
Besides Manning's uncharacteristic interceptions early in the game, rulings by officials also caused reason for concern.
Throughout the game officiating made calls that may have been deemed suspect, which may cause some further controversy later on the week.
