For the second straight week, Matt Ryan will start at quarterback for the Falcons despite any lingering effects of the turf toe injury that sidelined him for almost three games. Ryan's counterpart for Buffalo will be Brian Brohm, who will be making his first NFL start. Brohm has only been with the Bills for about four weeks.
The Falcons' inactives, nonetheless, include a fair number of starters (four in all): running back Michael Turner, right guard Harvey Dahl, right cornerback Chris Houston and defensive end Jamaal Anderson.
None of those really are a huge surprise. Head Coach Mike Smith all but indicated in a radio interview on Thursday morning that Turner's sprained ankle would sideline him for this Sunday's game. Dahl was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday by his injured ankle and then did not practice at all on Friday. Houston (hamstring) and Anderson (chest) followed the same schedule as Dahl.
The other inactives are quarterback John Parker Wilson, wide receiver Troy Bergeron, safety Charlie Peprah and tight end Jason Rader.
For Buffalo, both quarterbacks Trent Edwards, ruled out prior to the game, and Ryan Fitzpatrick are listed as inactive. As a result, the Bills are designating tight end Joe Klopfenstein as a back-up quarterback. Defensive back Todd Johnson, Bryan Scott, the former Falcons defensive back who is now listed as a linebacker, tackle Jamon Meredith, wide receiver Josh Reed, the team's fourth-leading receiver with 291 yards on 27 catches for a 10.8 yards-per-catch average, and defensive end Chris Ellis also are inactive.
