Atlanta Falcons: Winners and Losers from First Preseason Game

While the Atlanta Falcons left Thursday night's game on the losing end of a 31-17 drubbing by the Baltimore Ravens, they can rest easy knowing they won when it counted most.

With starters on both sides in for most of the first quarter, Matt Ryan led the Falcons to two scoring drives while the defense held the Ravens to zero third-down conversions on three tries and no points.

But not all was perfect for the Falcons, as the Ravens' scoring of 24 unanswered points in the second half leaves much to be desired from the performance of Atlanta's reserves.

Here are the Falcons' winners and losers from Thursday night's game.

Winner: Julio Jones

Expectations are high for Julio Jones this season.

On Thursday night, he didn't disappoint.

In just over a quarter of play, Jones caught six passes for 109 yards and a touchdown against the vaunted Ravens defense.

Perhaps more impressive is the way he did it.

Jones looked virtually unstoppable on every route he ran: From a screen pass, to a post route, to a go route and a short fade in the corner of the end zone, the Falcons' second-year receiver out-ran, out-leaped and simply out-played every defender he lined up against.

Jones was the main focus of Atlanta's offense against the Ravens, and if that continues to be the case for the rest of the season he and the Falcons could be in for a big year in 2012.

Losers: Backup Quarterbacks

Entering Thursday night's game, the question surrounding Atlanta's backup quarterbacks was how worried should the Falcons be if ever Matt Ryan were to go down this season?

But the question now might be, do they belong in the NFL at all?

Age looks to have slowed 35-year-old Chris Redman immensely after a number of errant throws had him finish an abysmal 1-for-6 for just eight yards.

Fourth-year quarterback John Parker Wilson, meanwhile, showed flashes of improvement after completing five straight passes to lead the Falcons to a field goal to end the first half.

Wilson then dropped back to reality in the second half, when he completed just three of seven passes for 24 yards, with some of his incompletions falling nowhere near his targets' vicinity. 

Surprisingly, perhaps the best backup for the Falcons may have been roster hopeful Dominique Davis.  The undrafted free agent's stats show he completed six of 11 passes for 53 yards and an interception.

But those stats don't tell the whole story: Davis had the Falcons' longest pass of the night negated by a holding penalty, while his interception was a catchable pass that went through the hands of tight end LaMark Brown.

If he continues to do well, Davis may take over at least Wilson's spot on the roster come September.

Winner: Jacquizz Rodgers

Entering this season, the general consensus was Jacquizz Rodgers would see most of his production this year come from screen passes or outside runs, a la Darren Sproles.

Instead, Thursday night Rodgers showed a willingness to run hard between the tackles, a la Maurice Jones-Drew. 

Rodgers carried the ball nine times for 33 yards against the tough Ravens' defense and had the Falcons' lone rushing touchdown of the night on a powerful two-yard run up the middle.

It's easy to see Rodgers' size and height and assume he's just a quick, speedy change-of-pace back. 

But if last night was any indication, Rodgers may not only have the ability to carry a bigger workload, but be very effective at it, too.

Losers: Backup Tight Ends

It may have only been the first preseason game, but it was nonetheless a disappointing one for backup tight ends hoping to make the team.

College free agent Adam Nissley was able to move the chains after making a 16-yard catch in the middle of the fourth quarter, but he would be done for the night with an apparent leg injury as he limped off the field.

Meanwhile, Aron White, undrafted out of the University of Georgia, finished the night as the leading tight end receiver with two catches for 22 yards, but that was overshadowed by a lost fumble on his second reception.

Rookie LaMark Brown wasn't any better after the receiver-turned-tight end not only came up empty on his two targets, but the second one would go through his hands and ended up being intercepted.

Tommy Gallarda, a member of the practice squad last year, made no such mistake, but stayed quiet after recording one catch for four yards.

With only so many snaps to go around, injuries and mistakes won't help those hoping to make it past the final roster cut.

Winners: First-Team Offensive Line

The offensive line was the subject of concern this week when the Falcons' unofficial depth chart for the game showed the same starting five linemen from last season.

But the starting line proved to be one of the biggest reasons why Atlanta was so strong in the first quarter.

Ryan stayed upright all night long as he wasn't so much as touched by a Ravens defender. Only once was he flushed from the pocket, but upon review he likely could have stayed long enough to complete a pass.

In the running game, the starters were generally solid and created big holes for Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers to run through on a few occasions.

They weren't perfect, but the Falcons' starting offensive linemen nonetheless were impressive in their opening preseason game.

Losers: Injured Falcons

Injuries are a part of the game, but two particular injuries may be very hurtful for the Falcons.

Fifth-round draft pick Bradie Ewing left the field on a cart after suffering a right knee injury on a punt return. The rookie out of Wisconsin was battling incumbent Mike Cox for the starting fullback job, but he might not even get on the field for a while depending on the seriousness of his injury.

Then, the Falcons lost a starter in Akeem Dent after he injured his head blocking on a punt return. Dent, a second-year pro, became the Falcons' starting middle linebacker following the departure of Curtis Lofton in the offseason and a recent season-ending injury to free agent Lofa Tatupu. 

It begs the question why a starting linebacker was on special teams in a preseason game, but the fact remains Dent could be out for an extended period of time if he suffered a concussion.

Dent himself showed he still has much to learn after getting beat in coverage a few times Thursday night, and every day lost to injury can only hurt his development.