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National Football League

NFL Game Summary - Atlanta at Kansas City

(Sunday, September 9th)

Final Score: Atlanta 40, Kansas City 24

Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Matt Ryan threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for a score to lead the Atlanta Falcons to a 40-24 thumping of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.


"I really like the way our guys played, they played with a lot of passion and they played for 60 minutes and they finished," Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. "That's what you have got to do to have the success that we want to have."


"We ended up getting too far behind as the game went on," Kansas City coach Romeo Crennel said. "We were trying to make plays instead of taking what they were giving us at the time, but sometimes that is the course of the game."

Ryan found Jones in the end zone for an 8-yard score on the game's opening drive. Ryan methodically drove the Falcons down the field, completing 6-of-8 passes for 68 yards including a back-breaking first down on 3rd-and-8 on the Chiefs' 42-yard line where he found Jones over the middle for an 11-yard gain. Five plays later Ryan targeted the former Alabama standout for the touchdown.





After doing it with his arm, Cassel did it with his legs and tied the game at 17-17 with a 5-yard scramble for a touchdown. Earlier in the drive, Jamaal Charles broke a 46-yard run to put the ball on the Atlanta 34-yard line. Back- to-back 9-yard gains put the ball on the Falcons'10, and Cassel would do the rest, breaking a tackle on the goal line for a touchdown.

Atlanta added a field goal in the waning seconds of the first half after a 25- yard pass to Gonzalez put the Falcons inside the Chiefs' 5-yard line. Ryan was sacked on the next play, but Atlanta got the yards back with a 7-yard pass to Roddy White. Ryan's pass on 3rd-and-goal was incomplete and Bryant sent it through the uprights from 21-yards out.




"It has been like a homecoming for me," Gonzalez said. "The fan support and seeing all those signs out there. They made this day very special."




"It is a hard thing to do, this is a really difficult place to play. The fans are unbelievable it is an awesome atmosphere and a good football team too, so for us it is a good start," Ryan said about the win.

Game Notes

Atlanta turned all three of the Chiefs' turnovers into points ... Jones has 10 career touchdowns and four two-touchdown games ... The Chiefs were without starting cornerback Brandon Flowers and linebacker Tamba Hali, who was suspended for violating the NFL's policy on substance abuse.

09/09 19:42:32 ET