Falcons Defense Falters on MNF, but Matt Ryan Giving His Best at Perfect Time

The Atlanta Falcons may have lost to the Green Bay Packers by a final score of 43-37 Monday night, but who would have figured they could come into Lambeau Field and actually cover the 10.5-point spread?

It was pretty much a forgone conclusion that Atlanta's defense was going to give up a sizable amount of points to Aaron Rodgers and his offensive cavalcade. Prior to Monday's contest, Green Bay was averaging 39.5 points per game during their last four showings.

Knowing that, the ability to stay competitive fell squarely onto the shoulders of Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and the rest of the Falcons offense.

What we saw Monday was a tale of two halves.

Besides the Falcons' first drive of the night—which resulted in a four-yard rushing touchdown by Steven Jackson—Ryan had issues with his decision-making and overall awareness early on. Those woes really hurt the Falcons' chances of winning the football game.

He simply didn't appear comfortable, and that culminated when he threw a horrendous pass to wide receiver Devin Hester along the sideline with 6:45 to go in second quarter. On that particular play, all of the bad decisions and poorly-placed balls morphed into one disastrous interception.

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On a designed rollout, Ryan surveyed the field to no avail. Looking for a "safe" throw, he spun the ball toward Hester, who was smothered in coverage by Packers safety Morgan Burnett. From the moment he released the chilled pigskin, you knew something terrible was about to happen.

Burnett saw the ball the entire way, which allowed him to easily intercept the pass. That turnover led to an Eddie Lacy touchdown four plays later.

D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution properly expressed how ridiculous that entire situation actually was:

After that pick, the flames of displeasure were roaring on social media. The Falcons were down 31-7 at halftime and it looked like the rout was on.

Fans and pundits had had enough of Ryan and his antics. That was until he marched out of the tunnel at halftime and transformed back into the talented quarterback we've come to know and love.

Maybe it took Ryan throwing one of the worst interceptions of the entire 2014 season to finally straighten things out? Whatever it was, he hit his stride and could not be stopped.

The second half marked the continuation of the Matt Ryan and Julio Jones show. On this night, Jones had a thirst that couldn't be quenched. Targeted 17 times by his quarterback, he caught 11 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown.

With Jones out there working in space, Ryan thrived. He scanned the field beautifully and threaded the needle time after time to his 6'3" pass-catching compadre.

In fact, the two were so in sync that at his postgame press conference Packers coach Mike McCarthy spoke about how despite focusing on Jones, they couldn't do anything to slow him down:

For the second week in a row, Ryan fed Jones the football and it worked to perfection—against the Arizona Cardinals, Jones finished the day with 10 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown.

Hopefully, the hip injury he sustained late in the fourth quarter, per the Falcons' official Twitter account, is nothing more than a bump in the road.

Offensively, the Falcons looked like a different team during the last 30 minutes of action at Lambeau. They moved the football without any issues on a Packers defense that was surrendering just 18 points per game at home since Oct. 19.

The 30 points they scored in the second half were almost enough to complete a shocking comeback. Unfortunately, when it mattered the most, Atlanta's defense couldn't get a stop.

A loss is a loss, and nothing can change that. But there are a few positives we can take away from this Monday Night Football thriller.

The most important one was the play of Ryan. Finishing the evening 24-of-39 for 375 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, his composure and ability to guide this offense is crucial for the rest of the season.

When your defense is hanging around the bottom half of Pro Football Focus' (subscription required) rankings prior to Monday night's horror show, good quarterback play is your only real hope.

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After that, even at 5-8, the Falcons are still in first place in the NFC South with three games remaining on their schedule. 

A showdown next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be important, but the final two games against the 5-8 New Orleans Saints and 4-8-1 Carolina Panthers will determine who gets to host a home playoff game in January.

At this point, it doesn't matter what their record looks like. The goal is to make the playoffs, then watch what happens next.

Hopefully Matt Ryan will continue to play at a high level. Because if he falters, there's no way the Falcons can survive, even in the feeble NFC South.

Unless noted otherwise, all game scores and information come courtesy of ESPN.com. All points and spread information provided by Odds Shark, unless noted otherwise.