Matt Ryan

Some of the middling quarterbacks believed to be on the trade market this offseason reportedly aren't generating a ton of interest thus far.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, interest in Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers and Carson Wentz of the Indianapolis Colts is "lukewarm at best."

La Canfora noted, however, that "rumblings" regarding Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons and Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings have "picked up."

Of the aforementioned signal-callers, Garoppolo led his team on the deepest playoff run last season, but he may also be the most likely to get traded.

San Francisco selected quarterback Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, but it kept Garoppolo as the starter throughout the campaign.

His numbers were far from spectacular, as he completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 3,810 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 15 starts, but he did lead the Niners to the playoffs.

Garoppolo also took San Francisco all the way to the NFC Championship Game before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, although it can be argued that a strong defense and running game contributed to most of that success.

While the Niners have made it to a Super Bowl and two NFC title games during Garoppolo's tenure, he is an obvious trade candidate given the presence of Lance and the fact that his contract expires at the end of the 2022 season.

Even so, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter told Ari Meirov of Pro Football Focus on Wednesday that he doesn't believe it is a lock Garoppolo will be traded:

Wentz, Ryan and Cousins are all potential trade chips as well, although none of them have a young understudy pushing for playing time.

Indianapolis acquired Wentz in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason in hopes of resurrecting his career, but while his numbers were far better in 2021 than they were in 2020, he struggled down the stretch and the Colts missed the playoffs following a Week 18 loss to a three-win Jacksonville Jaguars team.

Perhaps the fact that Wentz completed 62.4 percent of his attempts for 3,563 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions could entice some team to take a chance on him, but after watching him squander the presence of an elite running back in Jonathan Taylor and a talented defense, teams may be more interested in other options.

Ryan and Cousins may be a bit less likely to move than Garoppolo or Wentz given how established they are in their current locales.

The 36-year-old Ryan is the greatest quarterback in Falcons history and a potential future Hall of Famer. He has spent his entire 14-year NFL career in Atlanta and has four Pro Bowl nods, one NFL MVP award and one Super Bowl appearance to his credit.

Matty Ice's numbers weren't great in 2021, as he completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,968 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, marking his third straight year with less than 30 touchdown tosses.

It should be noted, though, that Ryan was without longtime No. 1 wideout Julio Jones, who was traded to the Tennessee Titans, plus his other favorite target in Calvin Ridley missed most of the season.

Ryan is still signed through 2023, and since the 2022 NFL draft seems weak in terms of the quarterback position, the Falcons may not be too keen on moving on from him.

Of the signal-callers mentioned by La Canfora, Cousins is the only one who reached the Pro Bowl last season.

The 33-year-old veteran completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 4,221 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and he continued to show a strong rapport with wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.

Minnesota missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season, however, and the team is under new leadership with Kevin O'Connell replacing Mike Zimmer as head coach.

O'Connell is a former quarterback and an offensive coach, which could make him the perfect guy to work with Cousins, or it could possibly compel O'Connell to look for another option under center if he doesn't have chemistry with Cousins.

Cousins is a free agent at the end of 2022, which may add to the Vikings' incentive to trade him, but there may not be a clear upgrade available despite the fact that Cousins has had little playoff success during his career with just one postseason win.

While the quarterback trade market may not be booming right now, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions are all in need of a quarterback, which may cause things to heat up soon.

As Ben Roethlisberger's career in Pittsburgh likely winds down, the Steelers could target Matt Ryan as a short-term replacement.

“Matt Ryan is a name that would intrigue me,” a league executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic. “You are rebuilding in Atlanta. If you can get a decent package for Matt Ryan, do you do it? He’s a Pennsylvania guy, albeit from Philly. The Falcons would save cash. That one is interesting. You probably get [three-to-four] years if you are Pittsburgh. I don’t see [Mike] Tomlin as a blow-it-up, total-rebuild type.”

The Falcons can save $23.8 million on their salary cap if they trade Ryan after June 1 or $8.1 million if they move him before then. Ryan has not been much of a step up from Roethlisberger this season, throwing for 3,555 yards and 19 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. He's thrown for over 300 yards only once since Calvin Ridley left the team for personal reasons in October.

Roethlisberger has failed to lead the Steelers on a touchdown drive in the first half of each of their last five games, the first time the franchise has done so since 1940. Pittsburgh is coming off an ugly 36-10 road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that saw the team's only touchdown come in garbage time late in the fourth quarter.

Roethlisberger has not said whether he plans to retire at the end of the 2021 season, but he signed a one-year deal last offseason that signaled a make-or-break campaign. 

The Steelers (7-7-1) and Falcons (7-8) are on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. 

The New England Patriots earned their fifth straight win with a 25-0 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.

Rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw for 207 yards, a touchdown and an interception to lead New England, which improved to 7-4. The Patriots also remained undefeated in road games at 5-0.

Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy had a huge game with two sacks and a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Atlanta fell to 4-6 after its second straight loss. Matt Ryan threw for 153 yards and two interceptions, and he was replaced by backups Josh Rosen and Feleipe Franks for the final two minutes of the game. Both Rosen and Franks threw interceptions on their lone possessions.

It's just the second shutout loss of Ryan's 14-year career, and he remains winless against New England. The Falcons were without versatile running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who sat out because of a sprained ankle.

Notable Stats

Mac Jones, QB, NE: 22-of-26 for 207 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Nelson Agholor, WR, NE: 5 receptions, 40 yards, 1 TD

Kyle Van Noy, LB, NE: 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 35-yard INT return for TD

Matt Ryan, QB, ATL: 19-of-28 for 153 yards, 2 INT

Mac Jones' Efficiency Leads to Victory

Jones' numbers Thursday don't pop off the page, but his efficiency is what was most impressive. He finished the first half with just one incompletion and spread the ball around to multiple receivers.

The dink-and-dunk nature of the Patriots passing attack might be boring, but the safe game plan worked wonders for Jones. He ran into trouble when he tried to throw downfield into traffic.

The New England offense is conservative, but it has proved to be hard to stop. In addition to Jones' efficient night, the Patriots ran the ball 30 times for 134 yards to control the line of scrimmage.

A balanced attack seems to be the winning formula for New England. With the defense clicking on all cylinders, it takes a ton of pressure off of Jones and the offense. The Patriots look to be a legitimate contender in the AFC despite having a rookie quarterback.

Falcons Offensive Line Struggles Against Patriots Pass Rush

It wasn't the Falcons' night, which might have been foreshadowed by the three-hour, 28-minute partial lunar eclipse set for Thursday night. No, seriously, it's the last time we'll see a partial lunar eclipse of that length for 648 years.

Atlanta's offense struggled throughout Thursday's game, mostly thanks to an abysmal performance by the offensive line.

Ryan was under duress the entire night. The rare times that the Falcons offense got any momentum going, an ill-timed sack put an end to it. Midway through the second quarter, Atlanta drove down into the red zone, but Ryan was sacked by Van Noy for a big loss. Younghoe Koo then missed the 50-yard field-goal attempt.

Matthew Judon, the Patriots' prized free-agent signing this offseason, got in on the action to set a new career high with 10.5 sacks this season. Right tackle Kaleb McGary struggled to keep him contained all night.

After A.J. Terrell's interception gave Atlanta some life midway through the third quarter, the Atlanta offense stalled with a turnover on downs. The Falcons needed one yard to move the chains and came away empty, as the offensive line couldn't get a push on third or fourth down.

Ryan was visibly frustrated and yelled at his teammates on the sideline. The 36-year-old veteran later floated an ill-advised pass while under pressure that got picked off by Devin McCourty.

The Falcons tried to adjust by playing uptempo and getting the ball out quickly, but it didn't help. Thanks to the offensive-line woes, Atlanta averaged just 3.2 yards per play. Ryan took four sacks and 12 quarterback hits on 32 dropbacks.

The Falcons will have to shore up their protection if they hope to avoid another lost season. Patterson's eventual return will help open up the offense, but things won't change if the team gets bullied in the trenches like it did Thursday. Atlanta is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

What's Next?

The Patriots will go for their sixth consecutive win on Nov. 28 at home against the Tennessee Titans. The Falcons will look to bounce back that same day on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Dallas Cowboys improved to 7-2 with a 43-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Fans were expecting a positive response after the Cowboys experienced an emphatic defeat to the Denver Broncos in Week 9.

The Falcons (4-5), on the other hand, see some of their momentum stalled after having won three of their last four games. Atlanta has yet to climb above .500 this season.

This contest was effectively decided by halftime. The Cowboys piled up 265 yards in the first half and jumped ahead 36-3.

Notable Performers

Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys: 24-of-31, 296 yards, two touchdowns; two carries, five yards, one touchdown

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Cowboys: 14 carries, 41 yards, two touchdowns; three receptions, 15 yards

CeeDee Lamb, WR, Cowboys: six receptions, 94 yards, two touchdowns

Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons: 9-of-21, 117 yards, two interceptions

Kyle Pitts, TE, Falcons: four receptions, 60 yards

All Gas No Brakes in First Half for Dallas

The Cowboys had five drives in the first half. Here's how they each ended: touchdown, punt, touchdown, touchdown and touchdown. This resembled a college game where Dallas decided to schedule a Group of Five or FCS school as a midseason tuneup.

Whatever message head coach Mike McCarthy communicated after the Broncos game resonated with his players.

CeeDee Lamb not only outscored the Falcons through the first two quarters, but his 94 receiving yards also eclipsed Atlanta's total output (89 yards).

The Cowboys have seen plenty of skilled pass-catchers walk through the door. The second-year wideout is quickly putting himself in that group.

On the other side of the ball, it might be time to put Trevon Diggs on some sort of interception tracker. Night Train Lane owns the single-season record (14), and Diggs is now more than halfway there with eight games remaining.

Considering Lane has held the record since 1952, the Cowboys cornerback probably won't get there in the end, but he may present a stiff challenge.

Falcons Grounded Early

At least Atlanta sports fans can fire up replays of the 2021 World Series to cheer themselves up.

To say this wasn't the Falcons' day doesn't describe how badly things went in the first half. The final minute encapsulated how it was a case of Murphy's law in action.

Atlanta got the ball with 1:10 on the clock following Lamb's second touchdown grab. A strip-sack by Micah Parsons led to a loss of nine yards on first down, and the next two plays yielded one total yard.

On fourth down, Dorance Armstrong blocked Dustin Colquitt's punt and Nahshon Wright fell on the ball in the end zone for a score. Not content to take a 32-point lead, McCarthy decided to go for two when a penalty allowed Dallas another shot on its point-after attempt.

It seems pretty clear Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn was carrying a chip on his shoulder after being fired by the Falcons. Luckily for Atlanta, it won't be running into Mike Smith or Jim Mora anytime soon.

During the Detroit Lions' bye, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn symbolically buried the film of their Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. That might be a smart idea for Atlanta's coaching staff in handling Sunday's heavy defeat.

What's Next?

The Falcons have a short week as they host the New England Patriots on Thursday at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Cowboys hit the road for a date with the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 21 at 4:25 p.m. ET.