The Atlanta Falcons demolished the New York Giants 34-0, to improve to 12-2 and 7-0 at the Georgia Dome.

Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan completed 23 of 28 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns. His 82.1 completion percentage and 142.6 quarterback rating were both season highs for the five-year starter. This was also Ryan’s sixth game this season throwing at least three touchdown passes.

Wide receiver Julio Jones was tied for a game-high six receptions for 74 yards and hauled in two touchdown catches. Jones has surpassed his eight touchdown rookie season, catching nine with for over 1,000 yards and still two games to go.

Veteran tight-end Tony Gonzalez also caught six receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown. Gonzalez leads the Falcons with 87 receptions.

As for the run game, Michael Turner carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards and punched in a one-yard run on the Falcons first offensive drive.

The Giants were out of sync from the start, opening their first drive with Eli Manning throwing an interception on 2 and 7 from their own 16 yard-line. Manning threw his second interception in the second quarter, resulting in a Falcons field goal.

Manning only completed 13 of 25 passes for 161 yards. His favorite target was wide receiver Domenik Hixon, who caught five passes for 80 yards.

The Giants were without running back Ahmad Bradshaw because of a foot-and-knee injury. Instead, rookie David Wilson got the nod for the start but was not nearly as explosive as last week. Wilson carried the ball 12 times for 55 yards.

With the loss, the Giants have fallen to 8-6 along with four other teams in the NFC. The Giants are currently third in the NFC East division at 8-6 behind the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, who are all 8-6. However, the Giants still control their own destiny and by winning out they will earn a wildcard playoff position. As for the Falcons, they will head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions and control their own destiny for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.

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New Year’s Day means a change in lifestyle for many people. Not so much for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their losing ways, however. The Bucs (4-12) laid an absolute egg in the first half in Atlanta and fell 45-24 to the Falcons (10-6) – Tampa Bay’s 10^th loss in a row to close out a miserable season that ironically began with a promising 4-2 start.

“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” said Raheem Morris shortly after. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow until they tell me to stop.” Unfortunately, that’s exactly what management told him to do on Monday. Unable to win a game since October 16^th, Morris was fired after 3 years as the Bucs head coach. A 42-0 first half lead for the Falcons pretty much sealed his fate.

Aware that a Lions loss in Green Bay would give them an opportunity to clinch the 5^th playoff seed, Atlanta held nothing back from the get-go. By the time the Packers had defeated the Lions 45-41, the Falcons entered the 2^nd quarter with a commanding 21-0 lead.

Matt Ryan touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to rookie receiver Julio Jones on the second and third Falcons’ possessions of the game, respectively, put Atlanta up three scores following a one yard rushing touchdown by rookie Jacquizz Rodgers to open the game. The first of Josh Freeman’s three interceptions set up Ryan’s second and final touchdown pass of the game.

Atlanta put up just as many points in the 2^nd quarter. A Freeman fumble put the Falcons at the Tampa 30, and Michael Turner finished off the drive with a one yard touchdown run on 4^th and goal to make it 28-0. Turner would add an 81 yard sprint to the end zone on Atlanta’s next possession after scoring on a 26 yard Curtis Lofton pick six.

Freeman struggled mightily yet again, turning the ball over a total of 4 times. His counterpart’s day was the exact opposite scenario. With a 35 point lead just before halftime, and a team record of 42 points in one half, Falcons coach Mike Smith had the luxury of sitting Ryan for the rest of the game after just 9 passing attempts.

Ryan also set the Falcons single season franchise record for passing yardage. With just 106 yards he totaled 4,177 on the year, breaking Jeff George’s 1995 mark. ”We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s what we needed moving forward.”

The Falcons were only able to add one more field goal in the 2^nd half with Chris Redman taking snaps. This was of no concern for Atlanta though, as Tampa Bay fell three touchdowns short with just two touchdowns and a field goal for the remainder of the game. The Falcons will now head to New Jersey for a 1 p.m. Wild Card showdown with the Giants. They hope to rebound after a disappointing divisional round loss to Green Bay last year despite being the number one overall seed after a 13-3 record.

“Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said. This is only the first time in Falcons history that they have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Now that the Bucs’ spiraling downfall has finally come to an end, they will search for a new head coach before seeking an impactful franchise player with the 5^th overall pick in the upcoming draft.

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Shades of last year are setting in as the Detroit Lions lost to the Atlanta Falcons 23-16, giving the Lions their second loss in as many weeks after five wins in a row. The Falcons abused the Lions’ defense behind the sturdy running of Michael Turner as he eclipsed the century mark for the fourth time this season.

Feeding Turner the ball has brought the Falcons great success as they are 13-3 when he rushes for more than 100 yards. The dominate play by Turner opened up the passing game for quarterback Matt Ryan who threw for 200+ yards, and had a touchdown toss to wide receiver Roddy White.

The Lions’ defense did manage to slow Ryan down at times, tallying two interceptions and three sacks. That defensive also pressured Ryan to leave the game momentarily. After Ryan was flushed out the pocket, offensive lineman Will Svitek was pushed backward, causing him to step on Ryan’s ankle. The incident looked worse than it actually was, and Ryan was able to return to the game.

The Lions’ defense also held the Falcons under 30 points, which should have been a recipe for a Lions win as the Falcons were 0-4 on the season when held to under 30 points. The Lions’ struggles were not due to the defense, but more so the high-powered offense that was held in check by the Falcons defense.

Lions star receiver, Calvin Johnson, put up his big numbers as usual, pulling in five balls for 115 yards and a touchdown, but the rest of the receiving core struggled mightily with 10 catches for only 68 yards. The Lions’ rushing attack also suffered with the absence of running back Jahvid Best who is out with concussion-like symptoms he got in last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

In his place, the Lions used a running back by committee system consisting of Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams, and Nate Burleson. The three backs filled in admirably for the injured Best, but were not as effective, forcing the Lions to rely on the arm of quarterback Matthew Stafford passing the ball almost 70 percent of the time.

Stafford was able to reel off 180 yards and a touchdown, but with the Falcons keying in on the pass, he only completed half of his throws. Stafford was hurt on the final drive by the Lions after Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton fell on Stafford’s leg, tweaking his ankle and knee. If Stafford has to miss any significant time, it will begin to look a lot more like last year, much to the chagrin of Lions fans everywhere.

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In a game of ups and downs and highs and lows, the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) came out victorious over their division rival, the Carolina Panthers (1-5), in Sunday’s NFC South showdown.

Michael Turner led the way for the Falcons, rushing for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. QB Matt Ryan also pitched in, going 14-for-22 for 163 yards and a touchdown.

As for the Panthers’ rookie QB, Cam Newton, the growing pains showed as the young stud threw three interceptions against Atlanta’s unusually staunch defense. Newton went 21-for-35 throwing for 237 yards but had no touchdowns in the game — the first time he’s been held touchdown-less all season.

The game was close for the most part, the Panthers holding a 17-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. But following a Carolina defensive breakdown and an interception thrown on a busted screen pass, the Atlanta Falcons established what would become an insurmountable lead.

At 3-3, Atlanta is trying to re-establish themselves as the dominant team they were so predicted to be. After a rocky start, taking losses to Chicago, Philadelphia and Green Bay, the Falcons will look to get back on track next week against the undefeated Detroit Lions.

As for the Carolina Panthers, the problems continue to build up as they lost their fifth game of the season. They’ve got a chance to get a few wins with games against Washington, Minnesota, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay approaching, but it looks as though they’ll be looking for good picks in this year’s upcoming draft.

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No division is more stacked with young proven talent then the NFC south.  A division that saw two teams make the playoffs and a 3^rd barely missing a playoff berth with a 10-6 record.  These teams will only get better and this division might see a new team on top of the wins column at season’s end.

The NFC South is home to the Atlanta Falcons who finished 13-3 this past season and although their record might not improve this upcoming season, the team along with its young quarterback most certainly will. At 26, young Ryan or Matty Ice as he has been called due to his cool calm demeanor in crunch time has had his best year in a very short career and look for that to improve.

Management and his coaches have drafted him a young, potentially great receiver in Julio Jones to go along with his many other weapons which will undoubtedly improve the offense that faltered in the playoffs.  Of course they will need to improve a poor pass defense that couldn’t stop anyone last season, but as the draft has shown us, they will be trying to outscore everyone and hope it is enough.  I see them coming 2^nd in the division at 11-5 this upcoming season.

Carolina Panthers finished 2-14 last season which got them the number one pick for their troubles…with that pick, the Panthers drafted a franchise quarterback or at least one who has the potential to be in Cam Newton.  They were the worst passing team in the league last season but the bright spot remains the running game.  That running game might suffer if they don’t sign Deangelo Williams this off season and improve that horrendous line.

It’s still a question who will start and what exactly they will do with Jimmy Clausen, the quarterback they drafted last season.  There are no real weapons on this team besides an old Steve Smith and the running game; so I don’t expect much on the offensive end of the ball.  At best, the Panthers will finish 5-11 this season… if we ever play and Newton will play by week 7.

New Orleans has been the class of this division for the last couple years but look for things to change a bit this season…not a big drop off in terms of wins but it won’t be as easy as it was at one point in this division.  The Saints finished 11-5 last season in an improved division that will only get better, but they are getting older while the division gets younger.

The offense will be there as long as the weapons stay healthy and Drew Brees remains at the helm, the running game needs help of course… which is why they drafted the Heisman winner Ingram- I wonder what that means for Bush who has had his fair share of problems along with USC lately.  The defense was good protecting against the pass but age is catching up to them quickly.  They didn’t do much to address that but we will see how that affects them in this division.  10-6, therefore finishing 3^rd in the NFC South.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the hand are young and on the rise in terms of power teams in the NFL.  What we saw last season was a glimpse of what was to come for this team and this quarterback Josh Freeman who I didn’t expect this much from at this stage in his career.

They finished 10-6 last season, it is quite obvious at this point that this team is much more than just a good young signal caller; although we can’t over state how good he proved to be.  The defense is young and fast, they will need to improve the rush defense…hopefully their two young D-Ends will help the defense as soon as possible.  Clayborn and Bowers are both beast on the line and will push each other; we will have to wait and see what they will get from Bowers whom every team passed on time and time again. I see big things for these two players and this team, the defense will need their troubled cornerback Aqib Talib to dominate this cover 2 in order for things work… if he even plays.

I’m picking the Buccaneers to come out of the NFC South and the play for the NFC title this season.  At 12-4, they will be the class of the NFC for a while.

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