Younghoe Koo made a 40-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the visiting Atlanta Falcons to a 17-14 victory over the winless New York Giants on Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, N.J.
Koo gave the Falcons (1-2) their first win after they rallied from a 14-7 deficit in the final 12-plus minutes. His kick easily cleared the uprights and sent the Giants to an 0-3 start and their second straight loss decided by a game-winning field goal at the buzzer.
Matt Ryan completed 27 of 36 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. He was 9-for-10 on Atlanta’s game-tying drive when the Falcons went 4-for-4 on third down conversions.
Ryan threw the 350th and 351st career touchdowns of his career. He connected on a 4-yard touchdown to Olamide Zaccheaus shortly before halftime and a 1-yard score to Lee Smith with 4:13 remaining.
Ryan also set up Koo’s game-winning field goal by completing a 25-yard pass to rookie tight end Kyle Pitts on 2-and-8 from midfield.
New York lost on a day when it honored Eli Manning with a ceremony that put the two-time Super Bowl MVP’s name into its Ring of Honor. The team also retired his No. 10 jersey.
The Giants also lost three key players to injuries as linebacker Blake Martinez (knee) along with wide receivers Darius Slayton (hamstring) and Sterling Sheppard (hamstring) exited the game.
Daniel Jones completed 24 of 35 passes for 266 yards. Saquon Barkley carried 16 times for 51 yards, including a 1-yard TD that gave the Giants the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Giants settled for Graham Gano’s 25 field goal attempt for a 3-0 lead after Jones was sacked by defensive end Grady Jarrett for an 11-yard loss inside the red zone. The Giants settled for another field goal with about 8 1/2 minutes left after getting to the Atlanta 17 when Jones lost 12 yards on a botched snap.
After punting on their first four possessions, the Falcons took a 7-6 lead when Ryan connected with Zaccheaus. Barkley scored with 12:56 remaining for a 12-7 lead and Jones dove in for the two-point conversion.
The Falcons answered with a 15-play, 72-yard drive when Ryan found Lee Smith for a 1-yard strike with 4:13 left two plays after New York’s Logan Ryan was called for pass interference and three plays after New York’s Adoree Jackson dropped an interception in the end zone.
–Field Level Media