First Quarter: **The first quarter went the way many expected. When it was over the Falcons held a 14-0 lead over the Colts and had forced two turnovers. On the second play of the game, linebacker Curtis Lofton forced a fumble on Indy running back Delone Carter. Ray Edwards recovered and the Falcons offense took over the first quarter. Atlanta used five runs from Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers to find the endzone. The Colts used their no huddle on the next possession and chipped away at an aggressive Falcons defense. After three first-down conversions, cornerback Kelvin Hayden brought down an interception. Atlanta would score their second touchdown late in the quarter on a 50-yard deep pass to Julio Jones. Jones split three defenders and dove into the endzone to catch the pass. The play was initially called incomplete but a Mike Smith challenge resulted in the call being overturned. The touchdown was Jones' first of his career.
Second Quarter:Jones kept up his impressive play in the second quarter. He caught a short pass from Ryan that he turned into an 80-yard touchdown run. The catch wasn't as incredible as his first, but Jones flashed the kind of speed that should scare opposing defenders. After the catch, he outran the entire Colts defense for the score. After the third touchdown, the Falcons struggled a little, allowing a pick-six interception from the Colts and were unable to add more points. Defensive tackles Jonathan Babineaux and Corey Peters added sacks in the second quarter and the Falcons defense kept Indianapolis from scoring again.
Third Quarter:The third quarter saw the Falcons limit the Colts to two possessions and Atlanta got their ball-control offense started. After a shaky second quarter, they used two long drives to find their rhythm again, capping their second possession of the quarter with a Tony Gonzalez 1-yard touchdown catch. The drive took 12 plays and 7:32 of game time to complete, covering 73 yards. The touchdown was Ryan's third on the day and he finished the third quarter with 255 yards passing. The Atlanta offense had 356 total yards and increased its time of possession to more than 26 minutes.
Fourth Quarter:The Falcons only added a field goal to their lead in the fourth quarter, but they were essentially in victory formation for most of the quarter. They ran the ball 13 times, including five straight runs by rookie Jacquizz Rodgers late in the quarter. Backup quarterback Chris Redman came on in the final possession to give Ryan the remainder of the day off. The Falcons finished the day with over 400 yards of offense and Sean Weatherspoon was the team leader on defense with six tackles. Atlanta's defense didn't allow a touchdown all day in the win.
Play of the Game:Jones' 80-yard touchdown run was exciting, but his first touchdown grab will go down as one of the best catches of the season. After Ryan heaved the pass 50 yards, Jones dove between three defenders to come down with the ball. Originally ruled incomplete, Jones signaled to the sidelines that he was confident he caught the ball. Smith challenged the call and the Falcons had their second touchdown of the day and a memorable highlight in the young career of the rookie receiver.
Player of the Game:Julio Jones. He finished the day with three catches for 131 yards and the two touchdowns. He also added two rushes for 33 yards.
Turning Point:It was all Julio Jones in the first half. Once Jones grabbed his second touchdown of the day in the second quarter, making the score 21-0, it was clear the Falcons had the Colts' number. After that score the Falcons turned to the run game to grind out the win in the second half using long drives to wear out Indianapolis and burn up the clock.
Stat of the Game:A lot of stats pop off the page, but the Falcons defense did some impressive things on Sunday in the win. They continued where they left off against the Lions on third down percentage. The Falcons only allowed Detroit one of 12 third-down conversions. Against the Colts, they continued the trend, limiting them to four conversions in 14 attempts.
Tweet of the Game:After the first half Jones had, he was the talk of the Falcons all over the social media channels. His outstanding performance prompted Falcons fan @ATLJBO22 to say: "Julio... Where the impossible becomes possible."
Quote of the Day:The Falcons return home after Sunday's win for three straight in the Georgia Dome, including the all-important matchup next week with the New Orleans Saints. Riding a three-game win streak into the next three games puts the Falcons in a positive spot. They'll look for some help from the home fans in the coming weeks, center Todd McClure said: "It's definitely a big stretch coming up. Hopefully our fans will show up and our crowd will be ready to go for the next three weeks. It'll be nice to get on a little run right here and get hot."
