The Falcons improved to an NFL-best 7-2 on the season after driving 80 yards on seven plays in the 65-seconds of the game to take a 26-21 win and improve to 5-0 at home in 2010.
Leading 20-7 in the fourth quarter, Atlanta surrendered 14 consecutive points and trailed 21-20 with just over one minute remaining in the game. QB Matt Ryan once again lived up to his nickname, 'Matty Ice', hitting WR Roddy White for a 33-yard touchdown on a designed rollout play.
Under head coach Mike Smith, the Falcons improved to 18-3 at home and are now an impressive 22-1 when leading at half time and 22-1 when leading at the start of the fourth quarter. Smith has also led his team to an NFC-best 9-3 (.818) record against AFC opponents.
Ryan improved his record at home to 18-1 (.947), which is the most home wins for any quarterback in the League over the last three seasons and Ryan has now won 14 straight contests at the Georgia Dome. Entering tonight's game, he held 17-1 record at home which is tied for the NFL's best home record through 18 starts. Ryan's record tied former Cowboys' QB Danny White (1980-82) and former Raiders' QB Daryle Lamonica (1963-69).
Ryan hit RB Jason Snelling for a 28-yard touchdown in the second quarter to cap a 14-play, 91-yard drive. It was the longest reception by a Falcons' running back this season and marked the second consecutive game that Atlanta has posted a touchdown drive of 10-or-more plays and 90-or-more yards. The Birds found the endzone on a 10-play, 99-yard drive in their Week 9 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the Falcons leading 13-7 in the fourth quarter, Ryan led the offense on an 11-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a four-yard touchdown pass to White. It was Ryan's second scoring strike of the game and his 15th of the season.
White recorded a pair of TD grabs and now has seven touchdown receptions on the season, which is tied for his second most in a single-season. White finished the game with 138 yards on 12 catches and two touchdowns. He has posted at least four catches in every game this season and seven-or-more catches in five games.
With his two touchdowns, White recorded his second multi-touchdown game of the season and the fifth of his career. He also improved his own franchise record for 100-yard games to 23.
In his past five games against AFC opponents, the two-time Pro Bowler has recorded 49 catches for 690 yards and seven touchdowns, and has notched 100-plus receiving yards in each of those games.
Ryan has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in a career-high eight straight games. His previous best was seven consecutive games in 2009. The Falcons own a 24-7 record when Ryan throws at least one TD pass and are 14-4 when he throws two-or-more. His 54 touchdowns in the last three seasons are the fifth most in the NFC during that time span.
The three-year pro completed a career-high 32 passes for a season-high 316 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdowns. Ryan's 316-yard total is the second highest yardage total of his career.
The Falcons improved to 13-0 when Ryan records a passer rating over 100 points, as he finished with a 101.8 rating. It was the fourth time this season that he has accomplished the feat and the third time he did so at the Georgia Dome.
WR Brian Finneran forced Ravens' PR Ladarius Webb to fumble as he tried to bring the ball up field. LB Coy Wire recovered the loose ball to re-gain possession for Atlanta. The Falcons took the ball at the Baltimore 43-yard line, marking the first time this season the Ravens have allowed an opponent to start a drive on their side of the field.
Atlanta's defense was stifling in the first half, holding Baltimore to 76 total yards, including just 25 in the second quarter. Ravens' QB Joe Flacco faced constant pressure from the Falcons pass rush, completing five of eight pass attempts for 31 yards. DE Chauncey Davis recorded a quarterback hit while DE John Abraham and DT Jonathan Babineaux provided a constant rush from the edge and middle of the field.
The Falcons aimed to set the pace on defense in the second half as Abraham sacked Flacco for an 8-yard loss on the opening play. Abraham also added a second sack for a three-yard loss with just 10 seconds remaining in the game. The three-time Pro Bowler now has 8.0 sacks on the season and 44.0 since joining the Falcons in 2006. He ranks fifth on Atlanta's all-time sacks list and his 30.0 sacks since 2008 rank third in the NFC during that span.
Two plays later, CB Brent Grimes intercepted Flacco marking his third pick of the season and the 10th of his career. Grimes' three INTs ties him with S William Moore for the club lead. He has now recorded an interception in back-to-back games for the second time in his career. The fourth-year pro also notched back-to-back games with an INT in the final two games of the 2009 season.
Atlanta's two turnovers each led to field goals. This season, the Falcons have scored 63 points on 19 turnovers, which ranks third in the NFL. Additionally, the Falcons 19 takeaways this season betters their total of 18 from the 2008 season and their 14 interceptions are one shy of the team's total in 2009.
Offensively, the Falcons converted 12-of-20 (60 percent) third downs attempts, including 5-of-6 attempts in the fourth quarter. In 2010, Atlanta has converted a league-best 48.2 percent of its third down attempts.
Three of Atlanta's five scoring drives lasted 10-or-more plays. The Falcons have posted 91 drives of 10-or-more plays, scoring touchdowns on 40 of those drives.