Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan fumbles as Baltimore Ravens cornerback Tavon Young closes in during Sunday's game in Atlanta.ATLANTA - Baltimore's defense made life miserable for veteran Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and the rest of the Falcons' offense on Sunday.
It was a performance that gave rookie Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson plenty of room for error.
Baltimore limited the Falcons to their fewest yards in almost two decades, and Jackson guided their Ravens to their third straight victory, 26-16 on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner at Louisville, was making his third straight start and first on the road. He finished just 12-of-21 passing for 125 yards, but he did plenty of damage with his legs. Jackson carried 17 times for 75 yards, including a 13-yard run in the first quarter that wound up being the Ravens' lone offensive touchdown in the game.
Justin Tucker connected on field goals of 41, 21, 45 and 47 yards for Baltimore.
With the way the Ravens (7-5) played on the other side of the line, not much offense was needed.
Baltimore held the Falcons (4-8) to 131 yards of total offense, Atlanta's worst showing since a 105-yard performance against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 12, 1999.
"Our defense, they're rolling," said Jackson, who has stepped up as longtime starter Joe Flacco deals with a right hip injury.
The Ravens sacked Ryan three times - one of which forced a fumble that Tavon Young returned 11 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory midway through the fourth quarter. Baltimore held a nearly 2-to-1 edge in time of possession (39:39-20:21) and limited the Falcons to a success rate of 2-for-9 on third-down conversions.
One play that illustrated the domination: When the Falcons went for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield, Ito Smith had barely taken the handoff when he was swarmed by the Ravens for a 1-yard loss. Atlanta finished with just 34 rushing yards on 15 carries.
"The defensive line did a great job of containing the run," Baltimore linebacker C.J. Mosley said. "Once a defense gets a team one- dimensional, that's when you can definitely go to work on their offense."
For Ryan, it was his fewest passing yards in a game he played from start to finish in his 11-year NFL career. The only times he threw for fewer yards were in 2009, when he passed for 15 yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being knocked out of the game with a toe injury, and a 106-yard performance in the 2011 regular-season finale, also against the Buccaneers, when the Falcons built a big lead and rested their starters heading into the playoffs.
"We never really got anything going," Ryan said. "That makes it tough when you really are not moving it and you're letting them kind of dictate the game. That's a tough pill to swallow."
The Ravens have bolstered their AFC wild-card position with Jackson behind center. The rookie had some shaky moments - and left for one series to be checked for a possible concussion after getting hit in the head by a teammate - but he was good enough to send the Falcons to their fourth straight loss.
"I wanted to get back out on the field and help my team win," Jackson said.
The Falcons, mired in their longest losing streak since a six-game skid in 2015, played in front of thousands of empty seats and heard plenty of boos with the clock winding down. They can finish no better than .500 and bear little resemblance to the team that reached the Super Bowl just two seasons back - nor even the one that reached the second round of the playoffs last season.
"This is as challenged as we've been in a while, certainly since I've been here," said Dan Quinn, in his fourth season as the Falcons' head coach.
The only excitement for the home fans was provided by defensive end Vic Beasley Jr., who picked up a fumble after Grady Jackson knocked the ball loose from Jackson. Beasley took off on a 74-yard return, huffing and puffing toward the end but finding enough energy to spike the ball over the goalposts, and with Matt Bryant's extra-point kick it gave the Falcons a short-lived 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The Ravens tied the score before halftime and dominated the final two quarters, outgaining Atlanta 193-44 in offensive yards.
The Falcons finally scored their lone offensive touchdown on Ryan's 1-yard pass to Austin Hooper with 4:18 remaining, getting a big assist when the Ravens were penalized for pass interference. A 44-yard field goal by Bryant early in the first quarter provided Atlanta's other points.