Quarterback Matt Ryan has another shot at a happy homecoming.
A berth in the NFC championship game is at stake when Ryan leads the Atlanta Falcons (11-6) against the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) in a divisional playoff Saturday. Ryan http://www.chiefsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-robert-golden-jersey , who grew up rooting for the Eagles and went to Philadelphia’s William Penn Charter School, is 1-3 at the Linc.
”I’m used to it now,” Ryan said about returning home. ”Playing as long as I have, I understand regardless of where we play you have to be at your best every week. The one nice part is there will be a lot of familiar faces, friendly faces after the game, which is always nice.”
Ryan had his worst game of his MVP season last year in Atlanta’s 24-15 loss in Philly on Nov. 13, 2016. He was 18 of 33 for 267 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
”Obviously, there will be some scheme from that game that we’ll take, what went well and what didn’t go well and try to improve on that,” Ryan said. ”We’re a different team than we were last year when we played them and they’re a different team. It will be some carry over http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-albert-wilson-jersey , but it will be a little bit different.”
Here’s some things to watch for when the teams meet in the playoffs for the first time since Philadelphia’s win over Michael Vick’s Falcons in the 2005 NFC championship game:
NICK’S UP: Nick Foles makes his fourth start since replacing Carson Wentz after the MVP candidate tore his ACL in Week 14. Foles played well in his first five quarters and struggled in the next five. He’s certainly a drop-off from Wentz, but he’s also capable of spectacular performances. Foles once tossed seven TDs in a game in 2013. He had four TDs in his first start in Week 15.
”There’s enough substance behind his career that merits having confidence,” Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich said.
`NORTHEAST’ NOISE: There’s crowd noise, and then there’s the noise generated by Philadelphia fans known for their intensity.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn seemed to search for a polite term to compare Eagles fans with the fans the team heard in last week’s wild-card win at the Los Angeles Rams.
”I’m not going to say more passionate, but I would say more Northeast,” Quinn said with a smile.
The Falcons have pumped in artificial noise in practice this week but will lean heavily on Ryan and center Alex Mack to use their experience with silent counts and hand signals.
”That’s huge,” said tight end Levine Toio. ”That’s where it all starts, coming off the ball, the cadence and stuff like that. We definitely work on that every week. Their fans, we’re expecting a loud crowd in a big playoff game.”
Mack said he expects Philadelphia’s fans ”to be really dedicated Cheap Sam Darnold Jersey , really loud, really involved. So it’s going to be a challenge just in terms of crowd noise.”
COMFORT ZONE: After leading the league in scoring in 2016, the Falcons finished the regular season 15th with first-year offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.
Atlanta averaged 22.1 points per game, down from 33.8 last season.
Ryan says he has become more comfortable with Sarkisian, especially the last two weeks in wins over Carolina and the Rams.
”I think Sark has done a great job of finding who we are week to week, specifically the last two weeks I think he’s done a great job,” Ryan said.
STOPPING JULIO: The Eagles had some success against Julio Jones in their win last year, keeping him out of the end zone but allowing 10 catches for 135 yards. Jalen Mills held him to four catches for 48 yards when he was matched up against Jones. The second-year pro is confident he can contain Jones again. Ronald Darby will have to cover Jones when he’s on his side.
”You have to think the ball is coming to him each and every play,” Mills said. ”Whether they’re having a run or a pass play, you’ve just got to think the ball is coming to him.”
MULTIPLE BACKS: Both teams have options in the backfield. The Falcons are led by Devonta Freeman Cheap Saquon Barkley Jersey , who had 865 yards rushing and seven TDs. Tevin Coleman had 628 yards rushing and five TDs. LeGarrette Blount led the Eagles with 766 yards rushing and scored two TDs. Jay Ajayi had 873 yards rushing and one TD combined with the Dolphins and Eagles. He ran for 130 yards against Atlanta in Miami’s win on Oct. 15.
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum contributed to this report.
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AP NFL website: Looking to extend one franchise mark and set another, the Toronto Maple Leafs entered Monday 25 spots ahead of the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL standings.
That didn’t matter to Jack Eichel.
The Sabres star scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period to lift last-place Buffalo over the Maple Leafs 3-2 and end Toronto’s club-record home winning streak at 13 games.
Casey Nelson had the other goal for Buffalo, which got 39 saves from Chad Johnson to end a four-game slide. Zemgus Girgensons added two assists.
”He’s a pro,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said of Johnson, who improved to 7-1-1 career against Toronto. ”He got an opportunity on short notice and did a terrific job.
Patrick Marleau had a goal and an assist, and Nazem Kadri scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen made 24 stops for the Leafs, who were also looking to set a franchise mark for victories in a season with 46.
”We had lots of good things, but then we got carried away with it and gave up some chances,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. ”The bottom line is we did lots of good things, we didn’t win the game.”
”Jack’s game all night was terrific,” Housley said. ”From start to finish, he really brought it.”
After the Leafs turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead late in the second, the Sabres tied it at 7:56 of the third when Nelson scored on a shot from the point through traffic that went off defenseman Roman Polak.
The Leafs challenged for goalie interference, but the call on the ice withstood a video review.
Nelson’s third goal of the season came after Toronto had a couple of chances to stretch its lead to 3-1 earlier in the period.
The Leafs pressed to keep their streak going, with James van Riemsdyk seeing his shot stopped by Johnson with less than seven minutes to go.
The Leafs pushed late with an extra attacker, but the Sabres held on to hand Toronto its first loss on home ice since Jan. 22.
”They were pretty persistent,” Kadri said. ”To be honest with you, we played a pretty all-around game and had a lot of offensive opportunities. Their goaltender was good tonight. They’re a resilient group.”
Down 1-0 after the visitors grabbed an early lead, the Leafs had a number of chances to get even before Kadri finally broke through with 2:29 remaining in the second.
Marleau dislodged the puck from Buffalo defenseman Marco Scandella behind the net on the forecheck before Mitch Marner fed a quick pass in front to Kadri Roquan Smith Color Rush Jersey , who beat Johnson to give him back-to-back 30-goal seasons.
Kadri, who scored 32 times in 2016-17, has eight goals in the last six games at Air Canada Centre.
The Sabres were assessed a high-sticking penalty on the ensuing faceoff – the game’s first infraction of any kind – and Marleau banged home a loose puck in the crease on the power play at 18:42 after Auston Matthews took the initial shot.
The Sabres grabbed the lead at 3:23 of the first. Eichel pressured Matthews into a turnover in the corner in the Toronto zone before taking a feed from Girgensons and beating Andersen with a quick move to the forehand.
NOTES: The Leafs won 45 games in 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2003-04, and secured 44 victories in both 1992-93 and 2002-03 – seasons that all came before the NHL instituted the shootout to break ties in 2005. Toronto is 7-2 in shootouts in 2017-18.
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o. ”That’s where it all starts, coming off the ball, the cadence and stuff like that. We definitely work on that every week. Their fans, we’re expecting a loud crowd in a big playoff game.”
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