ATLANTA – Making a successful return to his first NFL home, Matt Schaub passed for 179 yards, leading three scoring drives, and the Atlanta Falcons beat the Washington Redskins 23-17 on Thursday night.
Schaub began his career with the Falcons as Michael Vick’s backup from 2004-06. He played seven seasons as Houston’s starter and the past two years with Baltimore and Oakland. Schaub, 35, played most of the first half and solidified his status as Matt Ryan’s top backup.
After Ryan was 0 for 4 and could not manage a first down on two possessions, Schaub moved the offense by finding Aldrick Robinson for long passes of 47 and 68 yards. Schaub completed 10 of 15 passes for 179 yards, giving Atlanta a 13-3 halftime lead.
Falcons rookie J.D. McKissic returned a kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown to open the second half.
Redskins starter Kirk Cousins completed each of his five passes for 39 yards on his only possession. Colt McCoy played the remainder of the first half, completing 7 of 11 passes for 53 yards. McCoy led Washington to its only scoring drive of the half, a 41-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.