2 -*Straight games the Falcons have lost despite quarterback Matt Ryan logging a 100 quarterback rating. Ryan went 26 of 37 for 310 yards, two touchdowns, an interception for a 102.3 rating Sunday against the Steelers. Last week he passed for 375 yards against Green Bay and notched a 116.9 quarterback rating. The Falcons are 37-5 over Ryan's career when he starts and has a quarterback rating that eclipses the century mark.
2 -Key Falcons' starters listed as questionable and considered "game time decisions" who were deactivated prior to today's contest. Starting WR Julio Jones, who set a franchise mark with 259 yards receiving last week against the Packers, was still nursing the hip injury he suffered late in that record-setting game. Starting safety William Moore, who injured his foot in the first quarter of the Green Bay game and did not practice all week, was also a pregame scratch for Atlanta. Harry Douglas and Kemal Ishmael, respectively, replaced Jones and Moore in the starting lineup.
*
The Atlanta Falcons are in the final stretch of the regular season as they face the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Georgia Dome. Fans came out to have fun before the game. Here are pictures of gameday.
QB Matt Ryan
QB Matt Ryan
The Publix Drumline Competition will be held at hafltime
WR Roddy White
This group of fans traveled from Mexico to come to the game
Marines were at the game on Sunday to take donations for the Toys for Tots program
The parking lots were filled with tailgaters early Sunday morning
3 -** Penalties for the Falcons in the game. But the third was a back-breaker. With just over three minutes remaining in the game and the Falcons trailing 27-20 with all three of their time outs remaining, Atlanta appeared to have snuffed out a Steelers drive at their 36-yard line when a 3rd & 4 Ben Roethlisberger pass fell incomplete. But Desmond Trufant was flagged for illegal contact, handing Pittsburgh a fresh set of downs at their 41. The visitors were able to move the chains a couple of times and milk the clock, as Atlanta's offense never saw the ball again.
17 - Rushing yards allowed by the Falcons' defense in the first half of the game. The Steelers ran the ball only 10 times in the first half, relying instead on their potent passing attack, which yielded 220 first half yards. But Atlanta's success against the run helped snuff out two promising first-half Steelers' drives that ended in short Shaun Suisham field goals.
37 - Total points the Falcons have trailed at halftime in the past two games. Atlanta trailed Green Bay 31-7 and Pittsburgh 20-7 and failed to dig out of their first half holes in both contests.
37 - Career touchdowns for Devin Hester after catching a perfectly-thrown Matt Ryan touchdown pass in the second quarter. In his nine-year career, Hester has 16 receiving touchdowns, one rushing score and an NFL record 20 return touchdowns.
55 - Third down conversion percentage for both the Falcons and Steelers in the game. Both teams converted 6 of 11 third down opportunities.
**
The Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders are up early and in the Georgia Dome warming up long before the players take the field. Take a look at these photos of the girls practicing before the Falcons game against the Steelers.
62 -** Career touchdowns scored for Falcons WR Roddy White, a new Falcons' franchise record, surpassing the previous mark of 61 held by Michael Turner. White set the franchise mark on his fourth-quarter 4-yard touchdown catch that narrowed the Pittsburgh lead to 27-20 with 10:21 remaining in the game.
67 - Seconds Matt Ryan lay nearly motionless on the Georgia Dome turf after a vicious second-quarter hit by Steelers' LB Jason Worilds, who was flagged for roughing the passer on the play. Ryan regained his composure an d three plays later dropped a perfect pass into the outstretched hands of tightly-covered Devin Hester in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. It wasn't Ryan's prettiest game statistically, but it demonstrated why he's not only one of the NFL's best, but also the toughest.
131 - Receiving yards for Harry Douglas, who spelled the inactive Julio Jones in the starting lineup. Douglas was Ryan's favorite target on the afternoon, as the seventh-year pro from Louisville hauled in 10 of the 14 passes thrown his way. His 10 catches for 131 yards led all Atlanta receivers.
702 - Passing yards the Falcons' defense would need to surrender in the next two games to set the all-time mark for most allowed passing yards allowed in a season in NFL history. The Falcons have allowed 4,095 yards through the air thus far in 2014, while the NFL record for passing yards allowed in a season is held by the Green Bay Packers, who surrendered 4,796 yards in 2011. Atlanta is averaging an NFL-worst 293 yards per game through the air.
