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A defensive struggle in the first half between the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons quickly turned into a Giants rout after halftime. The Big Blue offense erupted for 17 second-half points and the defense held the Falcons scoreless in final 30 minutes en route to a 24-2 win on Wild Card Sunday.

The Giants, who were making their NFL-record 31st postseason appearance, won their first playoff game since Super Bowl XLII vs the Patriots. It was also their first postseason win at home since beating the Vikings in the 2000 NFC Conference Championship.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 0-3 in the playoffs during the Mike Smith/Matt Ryan era (since 2008). Ryan also becomes the sixth quarterback since the merger to begin his postseason career with three straight losses, according to Elias.

Why Giants Won
For the first time this season, the Giants passing and running games both clicked on the same afternoon. The Giants rushed for a season-best 172 yards and finished with 442 yards of total offense, their third-most in playoff franchise history.

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw punished the Falcons defense all game long, piling up 155 combined yards on 28 carries.

Jacobs finished with a season-high 47 rush yards after contact and Bradshaw finished with 43. The 90 combined yards after contact were most for the duo in a game all season.

The Giants defensive line also shined as it shut down the Falcons ground game. They didn’t give the Atlanta running backs any space, allowing just 27 of the Falcons’ 64 rushing yards to come before initial contact. That’s the fewest rush yards before contact allowed by the Giants all season.

Turning Point
Deep in his own territory and facing third down late in the third quarter, Eli Manning dumped a short pass over the middle to Hakeem Nicks.

The former Tar Heel turned it into a back-breaking 72-yard touchdown catch to put the Giants ahead 17-2. The grab matched the longest touchdown catch in Giants postseason history, originally set by Earnest Gray in the 1981 playoffs.

Why Falcons Lost
Atlanta’s offense sputtered the entire game finishing with season-lows in points (2) and total yards (247). The last time the Falcons were held to two points or fewer was a 27-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.

Two of the Falcons 11 drives ended with failed fourth-down conversions. The second failure led to Nicks’ 72-yard touchdown catch-and-run.

Situations like that were not kind to the Falcons during the regular season this year. Only the Rams had a worse conversion rate on third- or fourth-and-one attempts than the Falcons this year.

Stat of the Game
The Falcons are the first team in NFL history to finish a playoff game with exactly two points scored.

What’s Next
The Giants advance to face the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Playoff round. The Giants have a formidable task as they try to avenge a 38-35 loss to Green Bay in Week 13. The Packers were 8-0 at home this season and have a current 13-game win streak at Lambeau Field.

However, the Giants have had success recently on the road in the playoffs. They have won their last three road postseason games, including a win over the Packers in the 2007 NFC Conference Championship. That contest was coincidentally the last time the Packers hosted a playoff game.

Atlanta Falcons
The five-man offensive line unit of Will Svitek, Justin Blalock, Todd McClure, Joe Hawley, Tyson Clabo has played 591 of the Falcons’ 1,103 snaps this season. Together, that unit has yielded just six sacks, or one every 58.7 pass attempts .

No line unit that played at least 500 snaps together allowed fewer sacks or a lower rate of sacks per pass attempt. When that specific unit wasn’t on field for the Falcons, the offensive line allowed 20 sacks, or one every 13.6 pass attempts.

New York Giants
This season, the Giants recorded 34 sacks with four or fewer pass rushers, second-most in the NFL. The Giants’ defensive line was at full strength against the Cowboys in Week 17 and it paid dividends.

Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul shared the field for the first time since Week 12. The Giants tallied five sacks on the 26 plays they were on field together. Four of those sacks also came with Justin Tuck on field at defensive tackle.

Not to be forgotten on the defensive line is Mathias Kiwanuka, who was involved in 15 tackles for loss this season, second-most in the NFL.

New Orleans Saints
Jermon Bushrod and Carl Nicks have anchored the left side of the Saints’ line this season, each playing 1,177 snaps. Not only did each player play every snap for the Saints, they tied for the second-most snaps played on either offense or defense in the NFL this season.

This chemistry between Bushrod and Nicks paid off as the Saints are averaging 6.6 yards per rush to the left side this season (second in NFL), compared to 4.5 yards per rush to the middle and right.

Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos and Houston Texans
One thing the Lions, Broncos and Texans have in common is consistency on the offensive line. All three teams have a five-man combo that ranks in the top four of most snaps played together.

The Lions’ five-man combo helped produce the most pass yards of any offensive line unit; the Broncos and Texans helped produce the most rush yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Heath Miller might be the primary tight end for the Steelers, but he’s spent nearly as much time blocking as route-running. Only Daniel Fells of the Broncos has blocked on more snaps among the primary tight ends on teams in the Wild Card Playoffs.

The Steelers have used a league-high 25 different combinations of offensive linemen this season and with Maurkice Pouncey now out, Miller may be called in to block even more.

Cincinnati Bengals
Defensive tackle Geno Atkins’ 7.5 sacks this season were tied for the fewest of any team leader in the Wild Card Playoffs. However, Atkins’ sacks have been about quality, not quantity.

Of his 7.5 sacks, 7.0 have come on third or fourth down. That’s tied for most in the NFL this season with league sack leader Jason Babin and the Giants’ Pierre-Paul.

No team recorded more sacks from players lining up in the interior line than the 17.5 that Bengals produced this season.

Doug Clawson contributed to this post

Sunday’s early playoff game features the 9-7 New York Giants, making their record 31st postseason appearance, playing host to the 10-6 Atlanta Falcons.

These teams got to the playoffs on their strength of their offenses, as both team’s defenses ranked outside the top 10 in points and yards allowed this season. So let’s break down the offensive matchups for this game.

Under Center
The Giants pass rush is the strength of their defense, as they finished tied for the third-most sacks this season in the NFL. However, they might want to consider bringing extra pressure against Falcons QB Matt Ryan.

In his last seven games, Ryan threw 12 touchdowns and no interceptions against four or fewer pass rushers. That was a change of pace from the first nine games, when Ryan threw nine touchdowns and eight interceptions against such pressure.

The Giants do routinely get after the passer with just four or fewer rushers, with 34 sacks this season when sending such pressure, the second-most in the NFL.

But if this game comes down to the fourth quarter, Eli Manning could take over.

Manning threw for 4,933 yards this season, with nearly 35 percent of those yards coming in the fourth quarter, a league-leading 1,715. Manning also set an NFL record by throwing for 15 touchdowns in the final quarter.

Going Deep
These teams feature two of the best big-play receivers in the NFL, Atlanta’s Julio Jones and New York’s Victor Cruz.

Manning has had a big advantage over Ryan throwing downfield this season, with 38 completions when throwing 21 or more yards downfield compared to 11 for Ryan. Manning was at his best going to Cruz in those situations, going 13-21 to Cruz and 17-53 throwing to other wide receivers.

Jones was the main big-play target for Atlanta, with seven receptions of 40 or more yards this season, tied for fourth most in the NFL. The rest of the Falcons had three such receptions this season.

Roddy White, the Falcons other top target, unexpectedly struggled this season, with an NFL-high 14 drops. Last season, White dropped just three passes.

In the Backfield
The 2007 Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl, were fourth in the NFL in rushing during the regular season. Conversely, this season’s Giants enter the playoffs averaging 89.2 rush yards per game, fewest in the NFL, and the lowest by a Giants team since 1999.

So the advantage here goes to the Falcons and Michael Turner. The magic number is 100, as the Falcons are 22-3 when Turner rushes for at least 100 yards.

Watch for Turner to run to the left side. He averaged 5.6 yards per rush this season running to the left side, and just 4.0 when going up the middle or to the right. He could find room running left Sunday too, as the Giants allowed 4.7 yards per rush in that direction, 22nd in the league.

Two individual historic droughts could end this weekend in the NFL. Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson and Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez have played in a combined 549 regular-season games without a playoff victory, but both have the chance to end their droughts on Wild Card Weekend.

Both players' teams will have to win on the road in order to break their streaks, as the Lions head to the Superdome to face the New Orleans Saints Saturday night, while the Falcons play at the New York Giants at one eastern on Sunday.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Hanson (311) and Gonzalez (238) rank first and second in most regular-season games played without a playoff win in the Super Bowl era. Each has had multiple chances and letdowns in the playoffs over their careers.

Hanson has been with Detroit since 1992, the year after the Lions’ last playoff victory. Since then, he’s been to the postseason five times (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1999), yet come up on the losing end in all five.

However, he has come very close to postseason success. On Jan. 8, 1994, Brett Favre threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe with 55 seconds remaining to put the Green Bay Packers ahead of the Lions for good in a Wild Card matchup.

The very next postseason, Green Bay edged out the Lions yet again, 16-12 in Lambeau Field. In that game, Hanson missed a 30-yard field goal attempt with the Lions down, 10-0, in the second quarter. Later in the game, Hanson made a 38-yard field goal, but banked it off the upright.

Gonzalez has made a postseason trip on four occasions before this season, three coming with the Chiefs (1997, 2003, 2006) and last year with the Falcons.

Gonzalez’s best chance at a playoff win arguably occurred on Jan. 4, 1998 in the Divisional round. After finishing the year at an AFC-best 13-3, the Chiefs led the Broncos in the second half until Terrell Davis scored to give Denver the lead in the fourth quarter. A late Kansas City attempt at the game-winner was deflected in the end zone with 12 seconds left.

The Broncos not only won that game, but would go on to beat the Packers in the Super Bowl, despite finishing a game behind Gonzalez's Chiefs in the AFC West.

Both players will be on the road this weekend with a chance to end records they want no part of.

Both the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons have already clinched playoff berths, but the season finale of Monday Night Football at 8 ET on ESPN tonight still has major postseason implications for the two NFC South teams.

With a win, the Saints can wrap up the division title. The Falcons need a victory to stay alive for the division title and keep themselves out of the sixth seed in the conference.

History2W4
The other major storyline in this game is Drew Brees’ chase for history. Brees leads the NFL with 4,780 passing yards and needs 305 to break Dan Marino's single-season record of 5,084 set in 1984.

Brees has averaged nearly 300 yards per game in 12 career matchups with the Falcons, and has reached the 300-yard mark in each of his last three games vs Atlanta.

If he does set the record this week, it will also be his sixth straight 300-yard passing game, which would match the NFL record shared by Steve Young (1998), Kurt Warner (2000) and Rich Gannon (2002).

Matchups2W4
Part of Brees’ success this season is due to his exceptional performance on deep passes. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and just one interception on throws of more than 20 yards downfield, compiling a near-perfect Total QBR of 99.9. Against the Falcons in Week 10, two of his three completions on such throws found the end zone.

The Falcons have been vulnerable to the deep pass this year. Their Total QBR allowed of 97.8 on throws of at 21 yards downfield ranks 24th in the league.

Only three teams have allowed more touchdowns on such throws than the six that Atlanta has allowed. And the only other team besides the Falcons that has failed to intercept such a pass is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The best defense against Brees might be a strong running game that can control the clock and keep the Saints offense on the sidelines. However, Michael Turner has struggled over the last four weeks, averaging just 60 yards per game, a drop of nearly 30 yards from his average during his first 10 games.

Recently he has been unable to get to the sidelines with the explosiveness that he showed at the beginning of the season, averaging five fewer yards per rush outside the tackles in his last four games compared to his first 10 games.

Tonight’s game against the Saints might be the perfect opportunity for Turner to break out of his slump. New Orleans has allowed the second-most yards per carry (6.5) on rushes outside the tackles this season.

Against the Saints in Week 10, Turner rushed for 52 yards on five carries outside the tackles, and his 10.4 yards per rush average was his second-best of the season.

Stats2Know
• According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Falcons have lost their last nine Monday Night Football road games, matching the Chicago Bears (1970-85) for the longest road losing streak in Monday Night Football history.

• Elias also tells us that the Saints have won their last six Monday Night Football games, the longest active winning streak on Monday Night Football.

Monday night on ESPN, the New Orleans Saints will square off against the Atlanta Falcons in a game with massive NFC playoff implications. While the Saints have dominated the series 11-2 dating back to 2006, the Falcons are looking to avenge their Week 10 overtime loss to Drew Brees and company.

A key situation in which Matt Ryan must excel in order to beat the Saints is handling added pressure, specifically on third down.


The Saints send five or more pass rushers 54 percent of the time, more than any other team in the NFL. On third down, Gregg Williams’s defense dials up the blitzes even more by sending five or more rushers 60 percent of the time (eight percent more often than the next closest team, the Denver Broncos).

Not only do the Saints like to bring the heat, they happen to be very good at it. They've recorded 21 sacks this season, second-most in the league, and they hold opposing quarterbacks to a 45.0 QBR (10th best in the league). Comparatively, when they’ve sent four or fewer pass rushers, they’ve recorded only six sacks (the fewest in the league) and have allowed a 66.9 QBR (20th in the league).

The differences are even more drastic on third down.

However, Gregg Williams may want to reconsider sending additional pass rushers on third down because Matt Ryan has had success this year when dealing with pressure.

Ryan ranks in the top 10 among quarterbacks this season in QBR (67.8), yards per attempt (8.0), yards (1,259), and completions (92) when facing five or more rushers. And the pressure has not been getting to him as he has taken only four sacks, tied with Matt Hasselbeck for fewest in the league.

On third down, Ryan gets even better when facing pressure. Not only is he tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning for the most passing first downs with 28, but he is also second in the league in completions (33), fourth in yards (455), and tenth in yards-per-attempt (8.1).

When facing four or fewer rushers on third down, Ryan’s numbers are much more pedestrian. He averages 1.4 fewer yards per attempt and has been sacked a league-high 13 times. All three interceptions Ryan has thrown on third down this season have been when defense drop seven or more into coverage.

The Saints effectively contained Ryan in their previous matchup, however his QBR was 47.2 points higher against added pressure. Ryan must replicate and improve upon that effort on Monday, as he’s sure to face plenty of pass rushers.

The Atlanta Falcons stormed to a large lead Thursday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, never looking back and allowing themselves to turn their focus to a key game against their division-rival New Orleans Saints next week.

The Falcons have won two straight and four of their last five. At 9-5, they currently hold the fifth seed in the NFC.

They also clinched their fourth consecutive winning season, the longest such streak in franchise history.

Matt Ryan improved to 25-4 at the Georgia Dome. Only Danny White (25-3) needed fewer starts to record 25 HOME wins among quarterbacks who debuted in the Super Bowl era.

The Falcons have made the Georgia Dome one of the toughest places to play in the NFL. Since 2008, only the Patriots and Ravens have higher home win percentages in that span.

Ryan found an early groove with wideout Roddy White on thursday. The two connected for 10 receptions, 135 yards and two scores.

For White, he passed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving for the fifth consecutive season to set a new Falcons franchise record. He is just one of 10 active wide receivers with at least five seasons of 1,000 yards receiving.

White also is within range of passing Terrance Mathis for the most receiving yards in Falcons history. His 135 yards Thursday puts him 171 yards out from tying the franchise mark.

On the ground, Falcons running back Michael Turner also found the end zone. His rushing touchdown gave him 48 as a Falcon, tying Gerald Riggs' team record. Only Adrian Peterson (51) has more rushing touchdowns since the start of 2008.

The Falcons and Saints meet on Monday Night Football in New Orleans next week. Atlanta lost its earlier meeting with New Orleans this season in overtime, when Falcons coach Mike Smith opted to go for it on fourth down from his own side of the field. Atlanta failed to convert, giving the Saints a short field which ultimately set up the game-winning field goal.

For the Jaguars, Maurice Jones-Drew was arguably the lone bright spot, rushing for 112 yards on 17 carries. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season and he leads the NFL with 1,334 rushing yards on the season.

Jacksonville became the first team to score at least 41 points, and then allow at least 41 in consecutive games since the 2009 Giants. The Jaguars beat the Buccaneers 41-14 last week, the same score they lost by in Atlanta on Thursday.

After spotting the Falcons a 41-0 lead, the Jaguars scored their first touchdown on Zach Potter's 46-yard return of a blocked punt. It was tied for the second-longest return of a blocked punt for a touchdown since the merger.

The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Atlanta tonight to take on the Falcons. While the Falcons are fighting for a playoff berth, the Jaguars are trying to avoid one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

The Falcons trail the New Orleans Saints by two games in the NFC South, but their 8-5 record is currently good for the 5-seed in the NFC. With a win, they would clinch a winning season for the fourth-straight year with Mike Smith as head coach. Before he arrived, the Falcons never posted back-to-back winning seasons.

The Georgia Dome has been a house of horrors for opponents since Smith and Matt Ryan arrived in Atlanta. The Falcons own the best home record in the NFC over the past four seasons.

Rookies have been the key to Atlanta’s fortunes this season. Julio Jones posted his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season last week. Since the merger, the only rookie with more was Anquan Boldin with five games in 2003.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons are facing a rookie quarterback for the fourth straight week. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last team to face rookie starting quarterbacks in four straight games was the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals.

The Jaguars beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week behind a season-high 41 points. Jacksonville hadn’t scored more than 20 points in any of its first 12 games. The Jaguars haven’t won back-to-back games since Weeks 13 and 14 last season.

The Jaguars are 4-9 this season. With one more loss, they would reach double digits for the sixth time in the franchise's 17-year history. If they lose out, their 4-12 record would tie the team's debut in 1995 for the most losses in Jacksonville history.

The Jaguars are averaging 141 net passing yards per game this season. According to Elias, the only team over the last six seasons with a lower average was the 2009 Cleveland Browns. Blaine Gabbert’s 21.8 QBR is the lowest in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks this season.

Maurice Jones-Drew leads the NFL with 1,222 rushing yards. No Jaguars player has ever led the league in rushing. After passing Fred Taylor for the most touchdowns in franchise history last week, Jones-Drew needs two rushing touchdowns to pass Taylor’s 62 for the Jacksonville record.

The Falcons have had trouble running the ball recently. They have rushed for fewer than 100 yards and 4.0 yards per carry with no touchdowns each of the last three weeks. Elias states it’s the first time they’ve done that in three straight games of one season since Weeks 2 through 4 in 1999.

Matt Ryan ranks among the top 10 quarterbacks in yards per attempt (6.5) and TD-Int ratio (+9) on throws fewer than 15 yards downfield this season. The Jaguars have defended that area of the field well recently, as they lead the AFC with three interceptions on such passes over the last three weeks.

The Green Bay Packers' Week 13 game in East Rutherford against the New York Giants represents arguably the Packers’ toughest regular season test left. The Packers currently sit at 11-0 with the Giants and Chiefs left on the road schedule, while they’ll welcome the Raiders, Bears, and Lions to Lambeau Field. With Green Bay’s road divisional matchups and wins over New Orleans and Atlanta in their rearview mirror, Packers fans could be excused for thinking “undefeated season”- particularly when their quarterback is Aaron Rodgers.

How good is Rodgers, really? Other than the Super Bowl MVP and Lombardi-trophy resume? Looking past the likely MVP award and potential undefeated record this season?

Rodgers has thrown for 33 touchdowns this season, most in the NFL. But Rodgers’s +29 TD-Int differential is higher than any quarterback’s touchdown total alone. Breaking it down by distance, it’s clear that Rodgers has been successful on his short, high-efficiency throws. His +13 TD-Int ratio trails only Tom Brady (+15) between 1-10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and his Total QBR (93.5) and completion percentage (78.1) are both league-highs.

However, it’s the deep ball that best illustrates exactly how good Aaron Rodgers is. On throws at least 21 yards downfield, Rodgers officially has a 99.99 Total QBR. That’s best in the league because, frankly, it’s difficult to beat when the QBR scale stops at an unreachable 100. Just as impressively, Rodgers has completed 23 of his 34 attempts at least 21 yards downfield for an incredible 67.6 completion percentage. That percentage (on only deep throws) would rank Rodgers second in overall completion percentage this season.

This Sunday, Rodgers and the Packers offense will face the Giants. New York’s secondary, despite injury problems in the preseason, has defended or intercepted 40 passes this season, third-best in the NFL. However, Drew Brees picked New York’s defense apart on Monday night, and things won’t be any easier for Big Blue when Green Bay comes to town.

It wasn’t pretty at times, but once again, Tim Tebow found a way to win.

He continued his usual trend -- playing poorly for three quarters before turning it on the fourth quarter. Tebow finished with a 29.7 QBR on 44 action plays in Denver’s win against the San Diego Chargers.

His play in overtime was not (or has been) great, but his performance thus far in fourth quarters cannot be questioned.

From his 152 action plays in the first three quarters this season, Tebow has compiled a 17.1 QBR, which ranks last among qualified quarterbacks.

But he’s posted an 81.4 QBR on his 95 fourth-quarter action plays this season, good for fifth-best among qualified quarterbacks.

One less obvious trend for Tebow has been his above-average play on first down and his bad performance on third down. Tebow’s lone touchdown pass Sunday came on a first down.

On third and fourth downs this season, he’s managed a measly 14.3 QBR.

Brady, Ryan shine Sunday

Tom Brady shredded the Philadelphia Eagles defense, posting a 91.6 QBR on 45 action plays, helping New England win its third straight game.

It was Brady’s 10th game with a 90+ QBR in the past two seasons, tying him with Aaron Rodgers for the most such games in the league.

One cause for Brady’s superb game was his efficiency on deep balls. Brady was 6-of-8 for 172 yards on passes that traveled at least 11 yards in the air.

Matt Ryan also posted a respectable game in a win against the Minnesota Vikings, posting an 80.6 QBR on 44 action plays.

It was Ryan’s 23rd career game with an 80+ QBR. Since Ryan’s rookie season (2008), only Aaron Rodgers has had more 80+ QBR games in the league.

While Brady and Ryan shined, quarterbacks mostly struggled in Week 12.

According to QBR, Week 12 was the second worst week for quarterbacks this season. Collectively quarterbacks mustered a 42.9 QBR, only slightly more than the week-low of 41.0 set in Week 7.

Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers are two quarterbacks headed in completely different directions, and the results are reflected in the recent performances of their teams.

The Chicago Bears have a five-game winning streak for the second straight season. The San Diego Chargers have lost five straight for the first time since a nine-game losing streak spanning 2002 and 2003.

Cutler avoided a sack for just the second time in his last 30 games, even though there were multiple situations in which he faced significant trouble.

Cutler did complete six of his eight pass attempts while under duress (a term used by our video review crew describing a quarterback who was either forced from the pocket, altered his throwing motion due to pressure, or there was a defender who had a clear path in his line of sight), including a third-quarter touchdown to Johnny Knox that gave the Bears the lead for good.

Entering Week 11, Cutler had attempted 81 passes while under duress, the most in the NFL, but hadn't had anywhere near the success he had on Sunday.

On the other hand, Rivers struggled, even when not pressured. He now has 21 turnovers, matching his career high for an entire season, set in 2007. He had major issues in the fourth quarter, throwing interceptions on two of his four pass attempts when the Bears sent four-or-fewer pass rushers, after completing 17-of-22 passes in such situations in the first three quarters.

Following the game, sources reported that Cutler suffered a broken thumb that may cost him the rest of the regular season.

A good day for record-setting tight ends
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis set the team record for most touchdowns caught at that position (34) as his team improved to 9-1 with its win. Davis previously shared the mark with Brent Jones.

One of the differences in the game was that the 49ers' secondary limited Arizona quarterbacks to 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) passing, and intercepted two throws traveling at least 11 yards from the line of scrimmage.

San Francisco had not held an opposing team to two or fewer completions in a single game on throws of that distance since Week 11 last season.

The other record of note from the late-afternoon games was that Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez joined Jerry Rice as the only two players in NFL history with 14 seasons of 50 receptions or more.

Gonzalez had five catches in the Falcons win, and had his third straight game with a touchdown catch.

Gonzalez did that in a game in which Matt Ryan threw for more than 300 yards, the fourth time this season he’s done that, matching Jeff George for the most 300-yard games by a Falcon in a single season.

Ryan completed 9-of-10 passes for 178 yards against five or more pass rushers Sunday. Ryan's 17.8 yards per attempt against added pressure is his highest mark in a single game since Week 10 of the 2008 season against the New Orland Saints.

Teammate Roddy White had his 25th career game with 100 yards receiving, the most such games in Falcons history.

The San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens each have four wins despite getting less-than-stellar play from their usually dependable quarterbacks.

Those teams aren't in trouble just yet, but continued subpar play of their respective signal-callers could have each team on the outside looking in come January.

Philip Rivers, Chargers (4-2, 1st in AFC West)
2011 season: 1,715 Pass yds, 64.7 Comp pct, 7 TD, 9 Int, 57.1 Total QBR

In 2010, Rivers led the league with a career-high 4,710 pass yards and set a completed a career-high 66 percent of his passes. It was his third straight season with at least 4,000 yards.

Problem: Interceptions
He's already thrown nine interceptions, tied for second most in the league. Rivers has four games with multiple interceptions this season, one shy of his career worst (five such games in 2007).

Solution: Let it fly downfield
Of those nine interceptions, just one has been on a throw of 30 yards or more downfield. From 2008-10, Rivers' 35 completions on throws of at least 30 yards or more downfield led the league. He has just three such completions on eight attempts this season.

Matt Ryan, Falcons (4-3, T-2nd in NFC South)
2011 season: 1,683 Pass yds, 61.1 Comp pct, 9 TD, 8 Int, 62.7 Total QBR

Ryan set career highs in pass yards (3,705) and touchdowns (28) while throwing a career-low nine interceptions in 2010, leading Atlanta to an NFC-best 13-3 mark and earning a Pro Bowl selection.

Problem: Can't stay off the carpet
He's been prone to interceptions, currently on pace for a career-high 18. But part of the reason may be how much he's been roughed up -- he's been sacked 18 times already this season.

Solution: Get rid of the ball
Of his 18 sacks this season, 16 have come when the defense has rushed four or fewer, the most among QBs this season. He's been sacked just twice when the defense has sent five or more rushers.

Joe Flacco, Ravens (4-2, T-2nd in AFC North)
2011 season: 1,415 Pass yds, 52.1 Comp pct, 8 TD, 5 Int, 45.2 Total QBR

Flacco has shown steady progress since entering the league in 2008, upping his yardage and touchdown totals in each successive season. He guided the Ravens to a 12-4 mark in 2010, before falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional Round.

Problem: Accuracy
Flacco’s completion percentage is noticeably down from seasons past. A regular finisher in the low 60s, it currently sits in the low 50s. He’s particularly struggled in the first half of games -- his 48.8 first-half completion percentage is the lowest in the league.

Solution: Shorten the routes
Flacco has completed 60 percent of his throws inside of 10 yards, but beyond that, his completion percentage drops to 38.5 percent.

Week 7 saw six quarterbacks make their first start of the season and three of them including the Broncos' Tim Tebow were in the bottom four for Total QBR. Tebow's QBR was fourth-lowest among the 25 quarterbacks who had at least 15 action plays on Sunday. Only the Seahawks' Charlie Whitehurst, and the Raiders' Carson Palmer and Kyle Boller had a worse QBR.

Tim Tebow:

• Career-low 18.2 Total QBR

• Major cause: Through three quarters Tebow had a 7.8 QBR. After his sack with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter his QBR fell to a game-low 6.9. The Broncos also had a game-low 1.8% chance to win based on ESPN Stats & Information's win probability model.

From there Tebow was able to lead his team on two late scoring drives to tie the game at 15-15, bringing his QBR up to 25.5. However, keep in mind this only gave his team slightly less than a 50/50 chance to win being the road team entering overtime. With the game truly in the balance in overtime, Tebow's only action play was a sack on a third down from midfield which gave the ball back to the Dolphins. The other five offensive plays the Broncos ran in overtime were all non-Tebow running plays.

So Tebow did well to get his team close to winning - as seen by his nearly 20 point QBR increase in the fourth quarter - but he did almost nothing to get the Broncos from 50/50 to 100%.

• It might seem strange that Tebow had an 18.2 QBR this week while leading his team to a victory where last week he had an 83.3 QBR while leading his team to a similar (yet ultimately unsuccessful) comeback. The obvious reason for this is that Tebow had nothing to do with the 16-point deficit he nearly overcame against San Diego, but had a lot to do with the 15-point deficit he faced against the Dolphins. Through his first 27 action plays Tebow had a 6.9 QBR. On his next 16 action plays his QBR was 96.0.

Drew Brees:

• Season-high 97.2 Total QBR

• Major cause: Brees was dominant right from the beginning. From his third pass attempt onward, Brees’ QBR never fell below 97.0. He was 12-12 on throws longer than five yards, the first qualified QB to be perfect on throws of that length this season. He was also 3-3 on throws longer than 10 yards, only the third qualified QB to be perfect on passes of that length this season.

• Brees’ performance jumps him up to the #3 position in the season-long QBR leaderboard. Brees is the only qualified QB to have a 60+ QBR in every game he has played this season.

Cam Newton:

• 77.5 Total QBR

• Major cause: Second half. Up three entering the third quarter, Newton went 8-8 for 152 yards in the second half.


For more information about how Total QBR is calculated, go here.

This edition of Chalkboard Stats previews Sunday's matchup between the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons by breaking down a pivotal play from the Lions-Bears Monday Night Football game in Week 5. Click the “podcast” buttons to hear Stats & Info’s John Parolin provide play commentary and Next Level statistical analysis. After analyzing the play, watch it unfold in real time.

Week 6 was a week of extremes as six quarterbacks who have played in at least four games this year set season-highs in QBR while five set season-lows. Rookies Andy Dalton, Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert set career-highs.

Ryan and Rodgers lead the pack

Matt Ryan:

• Season-high 92.5 Total QBR

• Major cause: Two defensive pass interference calls in the end zone setting up 1st and goals for the Falcons. Ryan contributed 4.4 clutch-weighted expected points to the Falcons on penalties, the most in a single game for any quarterback this season.

• Ryan was also 3-3 for 53 yards on third downs in the fourth quarter. All three went for first downs.

• Since 2008, Ryan has 12 games with a QBR of 90 or higher, second most in the league.

Aaron Rodgers:

• 91.9 Total QBR, second highest of the season

• Major cause: In the first half Rodgers was 11-15 for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Despite Rodgers being unable to lead the Packers to any second half points, his superb first half gave Green Bay a 24-0 cushion which was never threatened.

Manning and Newton with season-highs

Eli Manning:

• Season-high 91.4 Total QBR

• Major cause: Stayed away from negative plays. This was Manning’s first game since Week 12 of last season without a sack, interception or fumble.

Cam Newton:

• Season-high 80.6 Total QBR

• Major cause: Scrambling. Newton added 8.1 clutch-weighted expected points with his scrambling, the most in a single game since Vince Young in Week 11 of the 2009 season. A large chunk of this came on Newton’s rush TD on a 3rd and 5 from the Falcons 14 yard line with the Panthers trailing by four in the third quarter.

Romo and Brady both above average, but not much more

Tony Romo:

• 62.6 Total QBR

• Major cause: It was a mixed bag for Romo. His biggest play of the game came on a 17-yard scramble on a 2nd and 13 in the 4th quarter with the game tied. That drive ended with a Cowboys field goal to take a 16-13 lead. However, Romo struggled on third downs all day, completing only two first down passes with an INT on seven attempts.

Tom Brady:

• Season-low 56.8 Total QBR

• Major cause: Like Romo, it was a mixed bag for Brady. His touchdown to Aaron Hernandez is what most people will remember (and was his biggest play of the game); however, Brady did not complete a single pass that traveled more than 12 yards in the air. This is the first time Brady did not complete a pass of that length since Week 4 of last season.

• Entering the final drive Brady’s QBR was 30.6, so the fact he was able to bring it all the way up to 56.8 on one drive was impressive.

For more information about Total QBR, go to http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6909058/nfl-total-qbr-faq