Colts at Falcons: Five things to watch

The defense gave up 17 points, but let the Colts drive down the field for the game-winning field goal. “It’s incredible to watch”. The Falcons haven’t been able to get at the quarterback as often as they’d like and this could allow Hasselbeck to pick his way through that defense with quick hitting passes, where guys like Hilton exceed. They are likely to lean on the ground game led by Frank Gore, who has yet to top 100 yards rushing this season but had 102 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Broncos.

Now, it’s in danger of falling apart. Atlanta started 5-0, but has lost four of five.

Head coach Dan Quinn was asked after the game on Sunday if he’s at the point where he’s frustrated with Ryan’s play in particular. Fullback Patrick DiMarco, known mostly as a blocker, tripled his career touchdown output by hauling in a couple of scoring passes. We need them. Today, we needed them in the running game and we needed them in the passing game as well. But on Sunday, Hasselbeck wasn’t the one keeping the Falcons defense in check or forcing four turnovers ( he did infact have two bad interceptions). We all know the type of year, the competitor, and what he brings to our team. So unless you believe this will change in the final six games of Ryan’s eighth National Football League season, there’s little reason to believe turnovers will continue to plague Atlanta. “I don’t think there was a bigger play”, Vinatieri said. “But the excitement is always there”. The Colts faced a third-and-7 at the Falcons’ 31-yard line when quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw incomplete, but Collins was whistled for holding a receiver who wasn’t targeted on the play.

The scene: Down 14-0 with 8:54 to go in the second quarter, the Colts took over at the 20-yard line. But they’ve slipped to 3-3 in contests decided by four points or less, largely because of puzzling breakdowns on the offensive side and, more specifically, the struggles of quarterback Matt Ryan.

“Matt, the old seasoned vet, is doing a fantastic job just winning games for us”, Vinatieri said.

“That’s why he is a first ballot Hall of Famer and why I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have him as a mentor”. Atlanta has basically become an honorary AFC South member. The Colts are looking to keep their season alive after quarterback Andrew Luck suffered a kidney injury that will keep him out for multiple weeks. But in the end, he came through, bouncing back from a fourth-quarter interception in the red zone to lead the game-winning drive. There’s really only one downfield threat on this roster, and he can’t catch everything.

Ryan completed 25 of 46 passes for 280 yards with the three touchdowns and three interceptions.

The most crucial mistake came after the Colts downed a punt inside the 1. Ryan took the bait, attempting a play-action pass over the middle. But Jackson, after feigning that he was coming up to stuff the run, dropped back into coverage. There’s a chance that he comes back, though, if he actually passes that test. Freeman emerged after Coleman went down with an injury of his own. Freeman was replaced by Tevin Coleman and Terron Ward. But Freeman must bounce back from a dismal performance two weeks ago against San Francisco when he had 12 yards on 12 carries.