Matt Ryan and the Falcons hit the road this weekend to take on the Indianapolis Colts (1-1) as they begin a three-game stretch against AFC South opponents.
The Colts present unique challenges all over the field as a team the Falcons don't see often. The Falcons (1-1) haven't played in Indianapolis since the 2011 season.
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Here's what Ryan had to say ahead of the upcoming matchup with the Colts:
Falcons run game is 'close'
The Falcons are hoping their run game gets ignited sooner rather than later.
Coming off two weeks where the Falcons have rushed for less than 100 yards in each game (73 yards vs. Vikings, 57 yards vs. Eagles), the emphasis turns to improving their rushing attack.
"We're close," Ryan said of the run game. "When you watch the film from the other night, even on the run plays that we were productive, we were very close to getting those to come out of the backend. We've got to keep working at it. If you can create explosives in the run game, it creates a problem for the defense. We've got our work cut out for us, it's a good defense we're going against this week, in particular against the run. But it comes down to us executing the way we're capable of."
Moving on from interceptions
Through two games, Ryan has thrown almost as many interceptions (5) as he threw all of the 2018 season (7).
It's uncharacteristic, to say the least.
Although it certainly hasn't been ideal for the Falcons, Ryan and his coach, Dan Quinn, don't believe it's something that will become the norm.
"It's certainly not the start you want in terms of turning the football over," Ryan said. "But it happens like that sometimes. You just have to weather the storm and keep making good decisions. Be aggressive with the football and believe it's going to turn."
Take care of business on road
The Falcons' first road trip didn't go as planned and in order to earn a postseason berth, winning on the road is something Atlanta will have to prove they can do.
Lucas Oil Stadium has always been a challenging place for road teams to win at and it's something at the top of mind for Ryan this week.
Sunday's game will also be the first time the Colts play in front of their home crowd this season as their first two games have been on the road.
"We practice a lot of different cadences to handle the noise," Ryan said. "I thought we did a nice job in Minnesota in terms of the cadence. We have a lot of different cadences we can use and we feel that's an advantage for us when we go on the road."
