GREEN BAY, Wisc. -- On a field that's seen its share of great quarterback-receiver combinations Matt Ryan and Roddy White introduced themselves to the NFL.
The Falcons rookie quarterback and veteran wide receiver went to work at historic Lambeau Field Sunday afternoon leading their team to a 27-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
The game came down to fourth-quarter heroics, but overall Ryan engineered the best game of his short career, completing 16 of 26 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. One of those scores went to White, who finished the day with eight catches for 132 yards, all in the first half.
The duo started quickly, hooking up for 37 yards on the first snap of the game. Nine plays later Ryan found tight end Justin Peelle in the end zone for an early touchdown. The score -- symbolically and literally -- ended earlier problems that plagued the Falcons in two previous road games. Ryan finished 4-of-4 on the opening drive and found Peelle on a fourth-and-goal play -- an example of the team's desire to succeed in the red zone.
"We haven't won on the road yet before today, but I think we have done some things well and we have built on that as a team," Ryan said. "Today we kind of put it together and we did a good job in a tough environment; a tough place to come in and win. They played well and hard, but we just made enough plays to get a tough win in a tough place. In that sense it is very satisfying."
Atlanta drove down the field on the next possession, but a dropped pass killed the drive before entering the red zone. Jason Elam added points with 4:20 left in the first quarter with a 42-yard field goal.
On defense the Falcons found ways to harass quarterback Aarron Rodgers. Atlanta recorded two sacks (Grady Jackson and John Abraham) and did enough early to keep Green Bay off balance. The Packers opened the game with two three-and-out possessions and the Falcons dominated the first quarter (8-0 on first downs, four plays of 18 yards or more on offense, 147-10 on net offensive yards and 75-7 on rushing yards).
Rodgers threw for more than 300 yards in the game, but most of that came in the fourth quarter as he put together drives to keep attacking a Falcons lead.
The Falcons were hurt by the big play in Sunday's game, including a 44-yard touchdown from Rodgers to Donald Driver. That ended an eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive for the Packers pulled the home team to within three points in the first half.
But Ryan responded with a drive of his own, piloting the Falcons on a a nine-play, 90-yard march that ended with the 22-yard touchdown pass to White.
"They were playing man coverage and it was just a go route," White said. "Matt told me that if I had one-on-one out there that he would throw me the ball and that's exactly what he did."
As the game continued, penalties and special teams play did more for the Falcons' cause.
Punter Michael Koenen placed two punts inside the Packers 5 yard line and a holding call on the Packers special teams unit wiped a field goal off the board for Mason Crosby. The kicker tried again, but missed from 53 yards out with 1:15 remaining in the first half. Green Bay was penalized nine times for 97 yards in the game.
The 17-7 score would hold until the 0:32 mark of the third quarter when Crosby connected on a 50-yard attempt.
The Falcons marched down the field on the next drive helped by a third-down catch by Michael Jenkins that went for 31 yards into Packers territory. A personal foul moved the ball to the Green Bay 12 where Ryan had tight end Ben Hartsock open in the end zone. But the quarterback floated the ball into the hands of cornerack Tramon Williams.
Four plays later Rodgers found Greg Jennings in the back of the end zone to tie the game with 10:08 to play.
Faced with another chance to correct some previous wrongs, the Falcons took the field again.
Return man Jerious Norwood returned the ensuing kickoff 54 yards into Green Bay territory to help set up a go-ahead field goal by Elam. An interception by Michael Boley with 4:33 remaining gave the Falcons the ball back at the Packer 19-yard line and three plays later Michael Turner busted through the middle for a touchdown.
"I was sitting down in the zone reading the quarterback to see where his eyes led me to," Boley said. "I saw him scan the field and come back to the back side, and I was there to make an interception."
A late score by the Packers would close the gap, but an onside kick attempt failed. A few runs by Turner polished off his 121-yard day and allowed the Falcons to run out the clock.
"I think it was a big win for us," Head Coach Mike Smith said. "We have had some success at home, and this was confirmation of what we are doing as a football team. I really believe that. This confirms that we can go on the road and win in a hostile environment and I think that is very big for our young football team."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-PACKERS GAME:
- GAME BLOG: Follow updates in the official in-game blog
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from the Lambeau Field press box
- TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons Players | Green Bay Packers
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Matt Ryan
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game Highlights | Matt Ryan Highlights | Michael Turner Highlights
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: Thoughts and commentary from the Managing Editor
- BOARDS: Talk about the Falcons on the FalconsLIFE Message Board
- FOLLOW THE FALCONS: Twitter | Flickr
- GAME INACTIVES: Inactive players and starters from the Green Bay game
