When Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons (4-7) last saw the New Orleans Saints (9-2), it was a game that didn't go as planned. Ryan was sacked a season-high eight times, three of them coming from All-Pro defensive end Cam Jordan.
Ryan is hoping for a different outcome on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and knows the responsibility of blocking Jordan so he doesn't wreck the game doesn't fall on just one person.
He's tough, there's no question about it," Ryan said. "Unfortunately I've got to know him well. Our guys will do a good job, we'll have a good plan. We've all got to do our part though, we've all got to pull our weight. It's going to be a collective effort for us to do better than the last time we saw these guys."
Jordan has sacked Ryan 21 times in his career, the most a single player has sacked a quarterback in NFL history.
What's changed with the Falcons recently
The Falcons are 4-2 since Dan Quinn was fired and Raheem Morris took over as interim head coach. And when asked what's been the biggest difference with the team recently, Ryan said it's really come down to two things: A clear direction from Morris and players simply just playing better.
"Just keeping it very simple for the guys what the expectation is for the offensive, defensive and special teams unit and then keeping it specific for position groups and trying to explain very clearly what he expects from us," Ryan said. "I think guys have responded well to that message. In addition to that as players, we've just made the handful of plays that you need to make in games that we weren't making in the first half of the season. I think the combination of those two things has helped us get back on schedule."
