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Come Fan with UsFriday, June 19, 2026

By the numbers: Matt Ryan crumbles as the Eagles defeat the Falcons

Some of the statistics from the Falcons vs. Eagles NFL season opener are so bad, they’re impressive.

Atlanta Falcons v Philadelphia Eagles
Atlanta Falcons v Philadelphia Eagles
Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The 2018 NFL season kicked off — after a 45 minute weather delay — on Thursday night with the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Atlanta Falcons. If you watched the first half, you wouldn’t know these were two of the NFC’s best teams in 2017. Penalty flags were constantly flying and both teams’ quarterbacks were shaky at best. In fact, Matt Ryan was downright bad. In the end, it was the Eagles who came away with the 18-12 victory.

Let’s take a look at some of the key numbers and stats from the first game of the NFL season.

57.4: Matt Ryan’s passer rating in a terrible opening performance for the Falcons quarterback. He finished 21 of 43 for 251 yards passing, no touchdowns and 1 interception. Yikes!

117: Passing yards for Nick Foles. The Eagles mustered up just 245 yards on offense in the game.

4: The number of red zone downs on the Falcons’ opening drive that did not include Julio Jones on the field. The Falcons failed to score after going for it on fourth-and-one. We missed you, Steve Sarkisian!

3: Points scored in the first quarter of the season. They came on a 21-yard Matt Bryant field goal for the Falcons.

0: The total yardage produced by the Eagles in the first quarter.

16: The number of penalties in the first half of the game.

16: Rushing yards by all Eagles players combined in the first half.

Unknown: The number of boos sounded by Eagles fans as the team ran into the locker room trailing 6-3 at halftime.

2: Catch rule debates and challenges in the game. Here’s why Julio Jones’ juggling circus catch didn’t count.

40 minutes and 19 seconds: How long it took for the first touchdown to be scored. It was a one-yard rushing score from Jay Ajayi.

1: Number of PATs missed after Bryant saw one doinked off the uprights. He was perfect on extra points last year.

169: Receiving yards from Julio Jones, who shined despite his team’s miserable play.

5: Falcons trips to the end zone, despite the team scoring only 12 points.

1-0: The Eagles’ record after a rough season opener. They’ll be hoping for Carson Wentz to heal up as quickly as possible.


Featured Stories

5 fearless predictions for the 2018 NFL season

Is this finally the year age catches up with Tom Brady? Can the Bears make the playoffs? And who will Jerry Jones sue?

The Eagles and Falcons need to fix their red zone problems

Both teams are too talented to be underachieving in the most critical area of the field.

What roster balance and the salary cap can tell us about this year’s top NFL teams

Have any Super Bowl favorites over-played their salary cap hand?

The situation between Le’Veon Bell and his Steelers teammates is more complicated than it seems

Geoff Schwartz explains why it’s a unique ordeal that can’t be boiled down to simple conclusions on Twitter.

Nobody is talking about the NFL’s new catch rule. That’s a really good thing.

There were no controversial catch rulings in preseason. Though, that changed on Thursday night.


What Fans are Talking About

The Falcons offense lost Atlanta the game

NFL Quarterback Tiers, Week 1: Where does your QB rank?

Win or lose, the Steelers are better off without Le’Veon Bell and his antics

Fans do not like the NFL’s new helmet rule

Why the Cowboys no longer need Dan Bailey as their kicker

Bills GM shares why WR Corey Coleman was cut

The Saints need to “pay” attention to their rising stars

NFL insider says Carson Wentz may be out until October

Cowboys center Travis Frederick gives an update on his medical condition

Patriots place 2018 second round pick Duke Dawson on IR


Tweet of the Day

While we waited through the rain delay for Thursday night’s game to begin, this exchange was too perfect.


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