The Atlanta Falcons head into a bye week feeling a whole lot better about their season.Sure Authentic Deion Jones Jersey , they haven't lived up to expectations in an injury plagued campaign.But two straight wins give them a reason to be hopeful.Matt Ryan threw for 379 yards while completing his final 18 passes and the Falcons added another chapter to New York's miserable season, beating the Giants 23-20 on Monday night ."You'd rather go into a bye week on a win than a loss, that's for sure," Ryan said. "We need some rest. We've got different guys banged up. All of us need to rest and refresh for the second half of the season."The Falcons (3-4) have five starters on injured reserve, which helped send a team with Super Bowl aspirations spiraling to a three-game losing streak. They snapped that skid with a victory over Tampa Bay, and then kept the winning going against the struggling Giants.Ryan threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Hall, Tevin Coleman broke loose on a 30-yard scoring run and the Falcons sent New York (1-6) to its fourth straight loss."I don't feel like we're a 1-6 team," said Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. "That's what our record is, but that's not the feeling in the locker room."It was another dynamic performance by Ryan, who was the league's MVP in 2016 when he led Atlanta to the Super Bowl.While these Falcons haven't played to that level, their quarterback is putting up numbers that measure up to what he did two years ago: a 71.1 percent completion rate, 2,335 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions.Ryan is only focused on the team's performance."To inch our way closer to .500 is a positive for us," he said.Some things to keep an eye on after Atlanta's victory over the Giants:GIORGIO STEPS UPWhile Matt Bryant recovers from a hamstring injury, Atlanta's kicking appears to be in good hands.Signed a few days before the game, Giorgio Tavecchio booted three field goals, including a career-best 56-yarder that helped seal the victory and was the longest field goal by a kicker in his first game with a new team in 40 years Youth Jake Matthews Jersey , according to NFL Research."That kick was good from about 65 yards," Ryan said. "He did a great job for us coming in on short notice."Tavecchio also connected from 40 and 50 yards.Even though Bryant will surely reclaim his job as soon as he's healthy, Tavecchio set himself up to draw attention from other teams when he goes on the open market again. He kicked last season for the Oakland Raiders.BIG TROUBLE IN THE BIG APPLEGoing up against one of the NFL's worst defenses, the Giants' offense fell short again.New York was held to two field goals through three quarters and squandered another scoring chance when Eli Manning's pass on fourth-and-goal from the 1 was swatted away . Two fourth-quarter touchdowns were surely not enough to persuade anyone in the locker room that they've figured out their season-long scoring woes."We know we have talent," tight end Evan Engram said. "We're doing things. We're just not putting the big picture together. That is what's frustrating."The Giants have been held to 20 points or less in five of seven games."I can't give you the answer," rookie running back Saquon Barkley said. "We're not executing. We're not finishing drives. That's the gist of our season."BIG PLAY HALLWhile he doesn't get targeted a lot in Atlanta's passing game, Hall sure has a knack of coming up with huge plays.Last season, the diminutive receiver hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass with his first career reception.Against the Giants, Hall broke free down the middle of the field to score Atlanta's first TD on a perfectly thrown ball from Ryan .Hall finished with three catches for 63 yards, giving him 10 career receptions. Of those, four have gone for at least 20 yards."He's put in a lot of hard work, and it's showing up," Ryan said. "He's making lot of good plays for us."BANGED-UP LINEThe Falcons have more injury concerns on their offensive line.Right guard Brandon Fusco went down late in the first half with a right ankle injury. He was helped off the field by a pair of trainers and quickly taken to the locker room on a cart.The bye week will give Fusco extra time to recover before a Nov. 4 game at Washington. The Falcons will be eager to get him back since they already lost another starting guard, Andy Levitre, to a season-ending injury.Ben Garland took Fusco's spot.BECKHAM'S MILESTONEOn an otherwise forgettable night, Beckham could at least relish a piece of history .With eight catches for 143 yards, he went past 5,000 yards in his 54th career game.That makes him the fastest player to reach the milestone in the Super Bowl era . He surpassed Atlanta's Julio Jones http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-alex-mack-jersey , who did it in 56 games.Lance Alworth needed the fewest games (52) to put up 5,000 receiving yards, accomplishing the feat from 1962-66.Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at s://apnews/search/paul%20newberryDamontae Kazee slams head-first into a blood sacrifice Thomas Dimitroff sat in his office poring over game film. There’s always work to be done when you’re running a pro football team. He jots down “urgent player” on his notepad, underling urgent seven times. “We could really use more urgent players,” Dimitroff whispers to himself. “Urgently.”Dan Quinn appears out of the darkness like a ghost, his face pale and white, seemingly floating off the ground.“Danny, you aren’t looking too good. Do you need some reasonably priced food? You know, we are doing that at the new stadium. It’s a groundbreaking paradigm in pro sports. A slice of ‘za is only $3! Tell ‘em Tommy sent ya and they’ll give you an extra topping for free. If it’s Sandra, see if she says anything about me.”Quinn looked tired, and Dimitroff knew exactly what this was going to be about.“Look, when you brought me here, it was to coach football. I didn’t sign up to push players into a pit of fire to appease some giant bird that—”“DANNY! You know it’s probably listening. And it’s not a giant bird, it’s more of a demigod falcon. Listen, I brought a lot of things over from the New England Patriots. You look for how they win so consistently. You know what I’m going to say. The three pillars are game film, analytics, and...”“Blood sacrifices,” Quinn said.“That’s right Mohamed Sanu Jersey , blood sacrifices. You think you have it tough? Bill Belichick makes sacrifices to a large, drunk Bruins fan. The smell is terrible! And Bill does everything so methodically. In 2004, he sacrificed the whole team after a muffed punt. Oh man, you should have heard that Bruins fan, he was all like, ‘That’s a wicked pissah sacrifice you got going there, guy.’”“Thomas, listen to me. I get fired up over pad level. I’m not fired up over a burning lake of fire hidden away in the indoor practice field. This can’t last forever. DLed keeps asking about all the charred skeletons out behind the dumpsters.”Quinn was frustrated, but they’ve had this same discussion countless times.“Danny, how many Super Bowl rings have you brought this team? I can answer for you. It’s zero. How many wins against the Eagles in the last year? Guess what, Dan, it’s also zero. You aren’t in a position to change what we do here. The same way we won’t give up on film review or analytics, we won’t give up on sacrifices. The sacrifices must return. They simply must return.”Quinn’s eyes dropped. He knew it was inevitable. Maybe if Kyle Shanahan knew when to run the ball, he’d have a little more sway around here. Instead, Shanahan left the way of so many others: the pit of fire. Some escape, but some are punished in other ways. Like being the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.Then just as he arrived, Quinn quietly returned to the shadows, darkness enveloping his body until he was no longer visible. He’s gotta get over this slump. Be like Belichick. But he probably can’t sacrifice the entire team. MEET ME AT TOMMY’S OFFICE. IGNORE THE SMELL OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE. BRING YOUR PLAYBOOK. I SWEAR Authentic Ryan Schraeder Jersey , NOTHING WEIRD BUT DON’T TELL ANYONE.Quinn hit send on the text, and immediately a car came screeching into the parking lot. It sideswiped three cars and crashed into the front of Flowery Branch, Damontae Kazee bursting through the windshield and running full speed toward the indoor practice facility.Quinn shook his head and wondered back to the Carolina Panthers. Do they have some weird blood sacrifice thing? Like a giant cat? Maybe some sort of Jerry Richardson with a normal sized body but a gigantic head? Man, that’d be like those Pep Boys mascots. Way better than this giant bird. Kazee runs full speed into Dimitroff’s office door, crown of his helmet right at the door jamb, bursting the door frame off the wall.“Hey Kaz’, you know, there’s a knob. Actually, this is the problem. You can’t replace Keanu Neal if you are getting injured or ejected or suspended. I need you to rise up, not smash into Cam Newton’s helmet when he’s on the ground. You’re a smart kid. Maybe the falcon will judge you accordingly.”Kazee blew past Quinn straight towards Samuel L. Falcon, the ancient supernatural beast overlooking the fire pit. Kazee jumped helmet first into the pit, ready to smash whatever was on the other side of the flames and smoke.“Why was he even wearing his helmet? It’s an off-day,” Quinn said to himself. Does that mean he just always rams into things like the Juggernaut from X-Men? How does this man get through grocery shopping?Quinn groaned while rubbing his temples. Sometimes these news guys just don’t get it. Speaking of things he didn’t get, a normal Jerry Richardson with a gigantic head? Do they feed him Bojangles? Maybe those berry biscuits? “Man, I gotta ask Ron Rivera about it,” Quinn thought, wondering of the endless possibilities.
