Any attempt to be effusive in praise for anyone involved in a victory over the Colts will be met with an obvious retort.
“Well, yeah, but it was the Colts.”
So we’ll save our breath, outside of pointing out Julio Jones’ two gamebreaking touchdowns in the first half, and simply say that the Falcons did exactly what you’re supposed to do when faced with a team of the Colts’ quality. They dominated from the opening minutes, forcing a Delone Carter fumble on the first drive of the game, and never took their foot off Indy’s throat for the remainder of the contest. The 31-7 victory might not have been as eyepopping as the way the Saints humiliated the Colts, but the end result leaves Atlanta with a shot to take over first place in the NFC South when they meet the Saints in Atlanta next week.
That’s not to say they came out of the game without any negatives. Matt Ryan had a good second half, but his poor performance in the first half is a sign that he is still looking for the consistency of his first three seasons. Ryan completed just 5-of-14 passes in the first two quarters and had an interception returned for a touchdown. Against other teams, that could be disastrous.
Against the Colts, it’s just worrisome because Indianapolis isn’t a team that can seriously threaten anyone right now. Curtis Painter completed less than half his passes and threw for just 98 yards before getting pulled for Dan Orlovsky when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter. Chris Polian was already feeling some heat for the job he did putting this team together and it figures to get even worse after another lopsided home loss. The only silver lining is the Miami victory, which gives the Colts the inside track on the first overall pick.