Falcons knock out RGIII, defeat 'Skins to stay unbeaten

• Rookie quarterback absorbs hit from Falcons linebacker
• Griffin III taken to locker room for observation
• QB's next start at home vs. Minnesota Vikings in jeopardy

LANDOVER, Md. -- It took longer than usual -- more than three quarters Sunday against a surprisingly stingy Washington Redskins defense -- for Matt Ryan and his quick-strike Atlanta Falcons to find their high-scoring groove.

But once Ryan convinced his offensive teammates to settle down, they rallied for 17-fourth quarter points in a 24-17 comeback win that extended their franchise-best start to 5-0.

Ryan is showing the leadership the franchise needs to make that long sought Super Bowl championship run.

"The biggest thing we did was we didn't flinch,'' said Ryan, who threw for 345 yards and two touchdowns. You are going to have halves of football that aren't your best. It's how you respond to those situations, and I thought collectively, we did a great job of that.''

Maybe it was the sloppy day -- a chilly, steady rain -- that messed with their psyches since the one knock on Ryan and these Falcons is that they're a different team outside their climate-controlled Georgia Dome home.

Ryan owns a 48-19 overall won-lost record as a starter. Ryan is 28-4 inside his comfy home dome fast track compared to 20-15 outside in the elements.

But Ryan continues playing at the highest level of his career, having taken his game to an elite level as he drives the Falcons (0-3 in the postseason during his tenure) to the league's upper crust.

It was no surprise that Ryan got his sluggish team to focus after linebacker Ryan Kerrigan's 28-yard second-quarter interception return for a touchdown forced a 7-7 halftime tie. Ryan evened the score with a 1-yard touchdown to tight end Tony Gonzalez, who had 13 catches for 123 yards.

"It just says a lot about the resiliency of Matt Ryan,'' coach Mike Smith said. "He is undoubtedly the leader of our football team. We are going to go as Matt goes. It is a quarterback-driven league. When he plays well and distributes the ball, we are going to enhance our chances to be successful.''

Ryan, maturing with each game, approached his offensive linemen on the sideline after the Redskins took a 10-7 lead on Billy Cundiff's 23-yard, third-quarter field goal.

"We were hurting ourselves with turnovers, and Matt came up to us and said, 'Keep going and calm down,''' center Joe Hawley said. "Our record is good, but we want to make that deep run in the playoffs.''

Ryan directed the 18th, fourth-quarter winning drive of his five-year career.

"These are the kind of games you hate because we didn't play the way we're used to,'' defensive end John Abraham said. "Even though we were kind of sluggish in the beginning, I never had the feeling we were going to lose. The best thing we did was we persevered because of Matt.''

Smith's Falcons are the NFC's lone unbeaten in their bid to win the NFC South division and earn home-field advantage to do what they really intend -- exorcise those postseason demons.

"It is a great start for us, it really is,'' said Ryan, the league's highest-rated passer with 13 touchdown passes and three interceptions. "At this point, you can't really worry about what is going on in the history of our organization. But we have put ourselves right where we need to be five games into it.

"I think the biggest thing for us at this point is to focus on getting better.''

Can they stay unbeaten?

The Oakland Raiders, 1-3 and on a bye Sunday, visit next, before the Falcons' bye week. Then Atlanta travels to Philadelphia to face the Eagles, who might have a new starting quarterback by then after another mistake-prone game by Michael Vick.

Meanwhile, it's hard to play any better than the ageless Gonzalez did by catching nine of his game-high 13 passes for 86 yards in the first half. The 36-year-old kept the Falcons in the game when Washington's defense was playing two high safeties with man coverage underneath to deny Ryan's usual big-play strikes to his dynamic receiving duo of Roddy White and Julio Jones.

"I don't know how he does it,'' White said about Gonzalez. "Everybody always talks about how he's going to be retiring after this season. He seems like he can play another four or five years.''

Gonzalez, who caught the 99th touchdown pass of his 16-year-career, sounded as if he isn't quite as sure whether he will walk away after this season.

"I've been thinking about retirement for about three years now,'' Gonzalez said. "I know I could play another two years at a pretty good level.

"I haven't changed my mind at all. I'm still thinking about retirement. But I'm not going to close the window entirely just in case. But more than likely I will.''