OAKLAND -- Raider Nation got loud throughout Sunday's game against Atlanta at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Falcons just made sure to convert early screams and hisses to a chorus of boos against the home team.
The Birds took a big lead into halftime and cruised to a 24-0 victory over the Silver and Black. Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan threw two first-half touchdowns to wide receiver Michael Jenkins as Atlanta out-gained Oakland in total yards 309 to minus-2 in the opening two quarters. They would finish the game with a 453-77 advantage.
The Raiders (2-6) ran just 13 offensive plays in the first half, three of which ended with John Abraham sacks.
Atlanta (5-3) kept former Falcon DeAngleo Hall and the rest of the Raiders defense off balance with a mixture of techniques that worked in four previous victories: power running, working without a huddle, and moving players around before the snap.
It worked well, as the Falcons have now outscored opponents 68-14 in the first quarter and surpassed last season's win total.
Ryan piloted the Falcons on long scoring drives of 88, 77, and 88 yards in the game. The team chewed clock in the second half with a steady dose of Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood, who combined for 202 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Turner talked earlier in the week about bulldozing over teams that loaded up near the line of scrimmage to stop the run. He did most of the heavy-hitting between the tackles, breaking away from defenders and gaining 139 yards on 31 carries. Second-year man Jason Snelling spelled Turner late in the game and picked up an additional 47 yards.
The Birds picked up 30 first downs. The Raiders, three. Atlanta controlled the ball for more than 45 minutes -- the second highest total in the NFL since 1991.
Abraham led an aggressive defense that feasted on opportunities and forced the Raiders offense into mistake after mistake. In the process, the Birds shutout an opponent for the first time since 2002.
"The defensive backs did a great job," he said. "I’m not sure what the yardage was but they did a great job. We gave away two big runs by the quarterback which might hurt our statistics but you can’t really ask for more than what we got today.
The only blemish on Ryan's scorecard came late in the second half. The rookie fumbled while waiting for a third-down passing lane to open. The ball was recovered by the Raiders but an Abraham sack ran out the half. The rookie finished the game with the highest completion percentage of his career (77.3). He threw for 220 yards and posted a quarterback rating of 138.4. He also completed passes to eight different receivers.
Most of those numbers came in the first half.
"Any time you can get out to a good start that’s beneficial, we definitely did that today," Ryan said. "We came out and three touchdowns on our first three drives, then got the field goal on the fourth. We had a good rhythm and good momentum and I thought we did a good job in the no-huddle today. Most importantly, our defense kept them from doing anything on offense today so it was an impressive effort by everybody.
In fact, Atlanta's defense stepped up each time the Raiders began to put a drive together.
Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux recovered a fumble with 8:08 remaining in the third quarter that ended a drive. A scramble by quarterback JaMarcus Russell put the Raiders in scoring range early in the fourth quarter but two tackles for loss and an incompletion on fourth-and-17 gave the ball back to Atlanta.
Safety Erik Coleman intercepted Russell in the end zone with 7:27 left to preserve shutout.
That's when the crowd fell completely silent.
"I am really proud of our football team today," Head Coach Mike Smith said. "Any time you can come out on the road and play efficiently, like our team did today, in all three phases and win the football game like we did, you have got to be very encouraged."
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-RAIDERS GAME:
- GAMEDAY LIVE: Complete game coverage from AF.com
- GAME RECAP: Defense smothers, offense sizzles in big win
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from the press box
- GAME BLOG: Live notes in the FalconsLIFE game blog
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more from the NFL.com Game Center
- J. MIKE'S BLOG: News and comment from the AF.com Managing Editor
- VIDEO: Head Coach Mike Smith | Matt Ryan
- PHOTOS: Pictures from the Falcons-Raiders game
- NFL NETWORK: Game Highlights | Michael Turner Highlights | Matt Ryan Highlights
- INACTIVES: Inactives and starters from the Falcons-Raiders game
