SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 23, 2012
Falcons 27, Chargers 3: Matt Ryan threw three first-half touchdown passes and Michael Turner scored against his former team as visiting Atlanta remained one of three undefeated teams in the league with a dominant performance.
Ryan connected for an 8-yard scoring strike to Jacquizz Rodgers, a 7-yard touchdown toss to Tony Gonzalez and a 9-yard strike to Julio Jones to lead the Falcons (3-0) to a 20-0 halftime lead. He finished 30-for-40 for 275 yards and threw one interception.
The Chargers entered the day averaging 30 points in their two victories to start the season, but the offense never clicked Sunday. Philip Rivers was just 21-for-38 for 173 yards and threw two interceptions to safety Thomas DeCoud.
Turner rushed for 80 yards on 14 carries and capped the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Gonzalez led the Falcons' star-studded receiving corps with nine catches for 91 yards.
The Falcons, who forced four turnovers, denied San Diego its first 3-0 start since 2002 and have won eight of nine all-time meetings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Ryan had a quarterback rating of 107.8. The Falcons improved to 26-0 when he has a rating of 100.0 or higher. … San Diego's Antonio Gates caught three passes for 22 yards, becoming the fifth tight end in NFL history with 600 receptions. … Chargers RB Ryan Mathews rushed for 44 yards on 10 carries in his season debut. Mathews missed the first two games recovering from a broken clavicle suffered on his first carry of the preseason on Aug. 9.