Despite losing their season-opener to the Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan saw a lot of positives from the offensive unit when he went back and watched the game tape on Monday morning.
One of those positives? The play of Russell Gage.
Gage, 24, was targeted 12 times and caught nine passes for 114 yards in the 38-25 loss. Fellow wide receivers, Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley also had big days. The Falcons made NFL history with the play of these three offensive weapons.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time a team had three players with 9 catches and 100 yards in the same game.
Expect Gage to continue to be a player Ryan and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter rely on moving forward.
"He was always a guy that we thought had a lot of talent," Ryan said. "He had the opportunity to being behind Mohamed Sanu for a year and a half which to me I think really helped him develop and learn. Mohamed was a really good tutor for him at the slot position. You're always unsure when the guy gets his opportunity if he's going to be able to handle that role and do it week in and week out. He's certainly exceeded expectations; he's played extremely well for us. I thought he played one of his best games for us this past week. That's going to serve us well moving forward because he's a great outlet for us in the middle of the field with two really exceptional players on the outside at wide receiver as well."
