Atlanta Falcons players celebrate with Atlanta Falcons kicker Matt Bryant (3) who kicked the game winning field goal against New Orleans Saints during overtime of thier game, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014, in Atlanta. The Atlanta Falcons won in overtime 37-34.ATLANTA – Matt Ryan has turned in plenty of impressive performances for the Atlanta Falcons.
This was probably his best one yet.
Throwing for a franchise-record 448 yards and showing some rarely used mobility to keep plays going, Ryan led the Falcons to a 37-34 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints in another thriller between the NFC South rivals Sunday.
Matt Bryant kicked a tying 51-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and won the season opener with a 52-yarder after the Saints fumbled the ball away on the second play of overtime.
But this was mostly about Ryan, who completed 31 of 43 with three touchdowns and eclipsed the team passing record of 431 yards set by Chris Chandler in 2001. Ryan also ran three times for 15 yards and dodged the Saints’ pressure most of the day, going down only one time after taking a career-high 44 sacks last season.