The Falcons' offense got rolling early on Thursday night, led by QB Matt Simms and RB Terron Ward.

In his first preseason contest after suffering an ankle injury early on in XFINITY Training Camp, Ward scored two touchdowns on short, punishing runs of 1 and 3 yards, giving his team a 17-7 lead at the half. The second-year running back finished the night recording 62 yards on 22 carries.

Simms found success with J.D. McKissic, Corey Washington and Nick Williams, as they combined for 132 of the team's receiving yards. His only blemishes came on a pair of interceptions that were both tipped off the hands of rookie TE Austin Hooper.

Heading into the game, head coach Dan Quinn emphasized two key areas for the team to improve upon, red-zone offense and creative turnovers on defense. The Falcons accomplished both on Thursday night.

The offense did its part, converting both red-zone opportunities into touchdowns.

On defense, safety Robenson Therezie showed his athleticism when he picked off Jacksonville QB Brandon Allen and returned it 23 yards. Therezie also showed his physicality in laying a punishing sideline hit on a Jaguars receiver, though he incurred a taunting penalty following the hit .CB Devonte Johnson also recovered a Jaguars' fumble that set up a 27-yard Matt Bryant field goal to close out the first half.

CB Akeem King led the team in tackles with six, an area in which Quinn hoped to see dominance.

In the kicking battle, Matt Bryant converted his only opportunity from 27 yards out while Shayne Graham missed his only field goal attempt from 32 yards out. Bryant converted both extra points.

Atlanta went 3-1 on the preseason with many positives to build on as Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff finalize their 53-man roster this weekend. Now, it's on to the regular season.

Game Leaders

Matt Simms-- 16-of-23 for 217 yards and 2 interceptions

Terron Ward-- 22 carries for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns

Nick Williams-- 4 catches for 61 yards

Akeem King-- 6 tackles