ence or more quality around the globe, in terms of how doping rules are enforced, theres a lot of room for progress.USOC

SEATTLE -- For one half on Sunday, the best offense in the NFL was stymied by the leagues best defense.Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan was spending as much time picking himself up off the ground than standing in the pocket looking for options downfield.What followed for Ryan and the Falcons was a third-quarter turnaround that was stunning and a fourth quarter that left Atlanta frustrated after a 26-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks .Atlantas high-flying offensive attack slogged through the first half, woke up during a 21-point third quarter, and made critical mistakes in the fourth quarter that allowed Seattle to rally.Rather than walking away from a two-game road trip with wins at Denver and at Seattle, the Falcons are headed home realizing their missed opportunity.We didnt start the way we wanted to in the first half, but I thought we responded really well in the second half and continued to battle, Ryan said. We just didnt finish the way we wanted to.Ryan finished 27 of 42 for 335 yards and three touchdowns, all coming during the third quarter. He hit Julio Jones for a 36-yard score on the first drive of the second half; found Mohamed Sanu on a 10-yard TD; and later connected with Levine Toilolo on a 46-yarder as the Falcons rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit.For one 15-minute stretch, Ryan could do little wrong. He was 13 of 17 for 220 yards, three touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 157.5 in the third quarter. Ryan turned a 17-3 deficit into a 24-17 lead in a blink, against a defense that prides itself on not giving up big plays.The offense was just clicking. Everybody settled down, said Jones, who had seven catches for 139 yards. Everybody was anxious to play; wed been out here for a week. When you have those matchups like we had today, everybody is ready to show what they have. Nothing about them, just more on us. Settling down and going out there and just playing football.How rare was Ryans performance? Since the start of the 2014 season, the Seahawks have held 25 teams to less than 220 yards passing for a game. Ryan needed just three possessions to accumulate that many yards.What will linger with the Falcons were the missed opportunities in the fourth quarter. Atlanta ran just three offensive plays and held the ball barely 2 minutes after Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka missed a 29-yard field goal.And three plays after Seattle pulled within 24-23, Ryans pass slipped through Jones hands, and landed in the arms of Earl Thomas.We wanted to stay aggressive at that point there was still plenty of time left, it wasnt just a time where we were going to run it and punt it away and give (Russell Wilson) and that crew going again, we were going to win the game and having the attitude for that, Atlanta coach Dan Quinn said of the play that led to the interception.Weve got excellent guys who know how to attack it just ended up being a tip ball.Ryan started the second half completing 16 of 19 passes, and missed on his final four throws. That final throw wasnt without debate as the Falcons pleaded for a pass interference call against Seattles Richard Sherman, but no flag came.Before I took off, he grabbed my right side and spun me around before I jumped up, Jones said. It was just a missed call. Its over with. Its done. Were onto the next one.The turnaround in the third quarter was stunning because of what Seattle did in the first half limiting the best offense in the NFL.The Falcons had just 86 yards of offense in the first half. Ryan accounted for most of that, hitting on 11 of 17 passes, but for only 83 yards. And he was battered by halftime as well. Ryan was sacked three times and Seattle registered eight quarterback hits in the first half.Atlanta protected Ryan much better in the second half and he made quicker reads and throws. He was hit just five times and sacked once in the second half.You know going into it that its going to be that type of a game, Ryan said. 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OMAHA, Nebraska -- U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said that although no single nation is responsible for undermining a broken global anti-doping system, he hopes strong measures will be taken if a pending investigation shows that state-sponsored doping compromised Russian sports outside of track and field.The findings of a World Anti-Doping Agency-commissioned report are due in mid-July.Blackmun said the USOC fully supports international track and field officials move to bar most Russian track and field athletes from the Rio Summer Games, a sanction that will face a substantial legal challenge in the coming weeks.When the WADA report is released, To the extent that there is evidence that other sports were involved in that, wed certainly hope that those IFs [international sports federations] take similar action, Blackmun told reporters at a news conference following a USOC board of directors meeting held in conjunction with the Olympic swim trials.Blackmun said his organization is working privately -- not publicly to push for reform and emphasized that the U.S. does not want to be perceived as having all the answers.I dont want to talk about other nations because we have our own share of doping problems, he said.dddddddddddd The idea at play here is that the system is broken. The system needs to be fixed. Whether its more independence or more quality around the globe, in terms of how doping rules are enforced, theres a lot of room for progress.USOC chairman and International Olympic Committee member Larry Probst said urgency is called for, referring to the IOCs recent request for WADA to convene a conference on the subject next year.The sooner, the better, Probst said. January 2017 would be way better than December 2017.The USOC also confirmed that it would increase its funding commitment to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency by 20 percent, from $3.7 million to $4.6 million in a six-year contract that starts Jan. 1.The past year has shown us just how important it is to maintain focus on the integrity of competition, USADA CEO Travis Tygart said. The USOCs investment in an independent anti-doping structure will go a long way toward the preservation of a level playing field here in the United States.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. 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