LONDON – Matt Ryan didn’t have his top two wide receivers in London. The veteran quarterback did have rookie tight end Kyle Pitts and the versatile Cordarrelle Patterson – and that was enough for the Atlanta Falcons, especially with the New York Jets stumbling early again.
Ryan passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns, including the first NFL score for Pitts, and the Falcons held on and closed out the Jets in a 27-20 victory Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Falcons (2-3) built a 20-3 halftime lead with Ryan finding his teammates wide open despite the absence of receivers Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage. He was “pleasantly surprised” by how much separation his targets had from New York defenders.
“It was an opportunity for a number of our wide receivers to step up and make plays,” Ryan said. “They had more playing time than they normally have.”
The Falcons coughed up a late lead last weekend in a 34-30 home loss to Washington, but this time they finished off the win despite losing two fumbles that allowed New York (1-4) to stick around.