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FOXBORO - The legions of Boston College football fans offered words of consolation to Matt Ryan and, make no mistake about it, there was no forgiveness for the favorite son of football in Atlanta right now.

Ryan and the Falcons didn't and couldn't get the job done offensively against the New England Patriots Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

"They did a good job against our run, they did a good job of making plays," related the Falcons' second-year quarterback, who completed 17 passes for 199 yards. But the Falcons were shutout on the scoreboard through the second half of play, netting just 78 yards and two first downs.

Michael Turner, the Falcons' bull of a running back, was limited to 56 meager yards. Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons' All-Pro tight end, had just one catch. The Falcons crossed midfield just once during the second half, never any deeper than the New England 38-yard line.

"They have a good football team, a great nucleus of players on offense," said Patriot cornerback Shawn Springs. "They've got guys who can make plays. So with a team like that you've got to try to eliminate the big plays." The Patriots did just that - Turner (who had just 49 yards through three quarters) never had a run longer than seven yards. Ryan, who had completed five TD passes in Atlanta's first two games, didn't throw for one and his longest passing gain was for 26 yards.

"We didn't put the ball in the end zone," added Ryan, who went 6-for-12 during the second half, the Falcons unable to recover from a mere 13-10 halftime deficit. "They (New England) did a good job. To a certain

degree, we expected that. With that said, we moved the ball pretty well."

However, Atlanta was just 2-for-9 on third down conversions, unable to make a big play when it counted, especially in the second half with the outcome still in balance.

"We didn't blow any coverages, we played physical, we played hard and just did our assignments - that's what you get when you play smart football," said Patriot cornerback Terrence Wheatley.

In the third quarter, an offensive pass interference call against Atlanta WR Michael Jenkins wiped out a potential game-tying touchdown - "we didn't do much offensively after that," said Ryan.

In the fourth quarter, Adalius Thomas chased Ryan out of bounds on a third-and-three play at the Atlanta 33. Then on a third-and-four at the Atlanta 31, Tully Banta-Cain knocked down a Ryan pass.

"You need to stay on the field," said Ryan of Atlanta being unable to advance the first down markers. "That's the NFL game, the money game. When you don't do that it hurts your chances to win the game."

Mike Smith, the Falcons' coach, acknowledged that it was far from the Falcons "best game. We played well in spurts, but they were the better team - it's real simple. We should be able to move the ball and do it in different ways."

The Falcons scored points on two of their first three offensive series, then ran aground. "Because of last week (a loss to the Jets), we picked up the intensity, we knew that they were going to do," said Patriot cornerback Leigh Bodden (five tackles). "It wasn't so much making adjustments, it was just play harder and make plays.

"The defensive line got some pressure on (one sack), we got some battled balls - we didn't let him (Ryan) sit in the pocket and throw darts."