Falcons Defeat The Chiefs In Week 1, 40-24

Falcons QB Matt Ryan

The Atlanta Falcons opened up their season with a satisfying win in Kansas City, 40-24. The team came out fired up and played well on both sides of the ball. The defense constantly got into the backfield which forced three turnovers on the Chiefs' offense.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan went 23/31 for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ryan received a 136.4 passer rating. Rising star WR Julio Jones had 6 catches for 108 yards and 2 touchdown catches. Pro Bowl WR Roddy White had 6 catches for 87 yards. Pro Bowl TE Tony Gonzalez returned to his old team's stadium and had 5 catches for 53 yards and 1 touchdown. RB Michael Turner had an off-day on the ground by rushing 11 times for only 32 yards.

On the defensive side, linebacker Stephen Nicholas had 12 total tackles with 1 interception. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon had 7 tackles and 1 sack. Safeties William Moore and Thomas DeCoud each had 7 tackles with CB Brent Grimes having 6 tackles. DE John Abraham had 3 tackles and 1 sack.

Kansas City QB Matt Cassel went 21/33 for 258 yards and 1 touchdown. He had 2 interceptions. RB Jamaal Charles had 16 rushing attempts for 87 yards but didn't reach the endzone. Atlanta shut down three of the Chiefs' RBs by holding all of them to less than 100 yards and two of them for less than 30 yards. WR Dexter McCluster had 6 catches for 82 yards.

Falcons WR Julio Jones scoring one of his two touchdowns

Matt Ryan controlled the tempo of the game by consistently keeping drives alive by converting on third down and utilizing the talents he has on offense. WR Julio Jones is expected to have a breakout year after an injury-plagued 2011.  The one-two punch of Jones and Roddy White will give defensive coordinators headaches. Third option WR Harry Douglas is a deep threat and TE Tony Gonzalez can keep the chains moving by catching those passes on third down.

The Falcons return to Atlanta for their first home game on Monday Night Football on ESPN to play Peyton Manning's Denver Broncos. After an impressive return to the NFL on Sunday against the Steelers, Manning looks to continue to play well. After a huge game from QB Matt Ryan, he looks to do the same and help Atlanta improve to 2-0. The Georgia Dome will most likely be sold out and and will be hyped up for the Dirty Birds return. It will be a tough battle between two QBs who have championship aspirations this season.

It's going to be an exciting season for the Atlanta Falcons. It'll be a challenge as they battle against the NFC South and compete against the NFC East this year. Atlanta will look to improve on a disappointing finish from last year and go deep into the playoffs this season. I look forward to covering your Falcons all season long and keep on looking out for more of my blogs. So until then, GO FALCONS!!!-Yuriy A.