ATLANTA (AP) — Even in the preseason, Matt Ryan gets miffed about a poor showing.

He had nothing to complain about Friday.

Ryan guided the Atlanta Falcons right down the field for a touchdown on their first possession, hooking up with Austin Hooper on a 4-yard scoring pass , and led another impressive drive before calling it a night in a 28-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ryan finished 5 of 7 for 90 yards, looking very much like the quarterback who won the MVP during the 2016 season even though receiver Julio Jones and running back Devonta Freeman didn’t play for the second week in a row.

It was certainly an encouraging contrast to the preseason opener, when the Falcons (0-2) were blanked 17-0 by the New York Jets and Ryan played only one brief, dismal series .

With a resting Jones watching from the sideline, Calvin Ridley got a chance to shine for the Falcons. The first-round pick from Alabama hauled in the first touchdown of his professional career on a 7-yard pass from backup quarterback Matt Schaub .

Ridley finished with three receptions for 49 yards.

Kansas City’s new starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, had an up-and-down game but delivered one tantalizing pass.

Alex Smith’s replacement was intercepted on a deep throw by Falcons safety Damontae Kazee , who drifted over from the middle of the field to pick a ball intended for Sammy Watkins. Mahomes caught a break when another ill-advised throw into the end zone was dropped by Falcons cornerback Blidi Wren-Wilson, allowing the Chiefs to salvage a field goal.

But, with just 17 seconds left in the first half, Mahomes made the most of his final pass. Three Atlanta defensive backs inexplicably allowed Tyreek Hill to get behind them, and Mahomes delivered the pass in stride for a 69-yard touchdown .

The throw actually traveled 70 yards in the air — ample evidence of Mahomes’ enormous potential .

“I don’t think I’ve ever thrown one that far in a game,” said Mahomes, who finished 8 of 12 for 138 yards. “I don’t know many people that would be able to catch that ball going that far in a game. I told (Hill) if I had thrown a spiral, he wouldn’t have been able to get to it. He disagreed with that.”

Chad Henne took over for Mahomes at quarterback to begin the second half. He connected with Gehrig Dieter on a 27-yard touchdown that put the Chiefs (1-1) ahead for the first time, capping a 10-play, 76-yard drive.

Ben Niemann finished off the scoring with a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown after picking off a horrible throw by Atlanta’s third-string quarterback, undrafted rookie Kurt Benkert.

“He overthrew it and gave me a gift,” said Niemann, also an undrafted rookie.

While many Atlanta fans were still backed up in security lines outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Ryan began his impressive showing by converting on third-and-11 with a 29-yard pass to Hooper.

Tevin Coleman, the other half of the Falcons’ dynamic 1-2 punch at running back, broke off a pair of 15-yard runs before Ryan rolled to his left and hit Hooper on the short scoring pass. The tight end showed impressive athleticism, hurtling into the end zone over cornerback Steven Nelson .

After the Chiefs went three-and-out, Ryan guided the Falcons deep into Kansas City territory once again. The big play was a 36-yard completion to Ridley , who beat David Amerson to haul in the pass.

On fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs 20, the Falcons passed on a field goal attempt, which was essentially irrelevant since 43-year-old kicker Matt Bryant skipped his second straight preseason game. Ryan’s pass for Ridley was broken up by Kendall Fuller, halting a seven-play, 69-yard drive.

UP NEXT

Chiefs: Hit the road again to face the Chicago Bears on Aug. 25.

Falcons: Travel to Jacksonville that same day to face the Jaguars in a matchup between 2017 playoff teams.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jack Flaherty got an extra day of rest and a chance to pitch against Milwaukee, and took advantage of both.

Kolten Wong and Marcell Ozuna drove in two runs apiece, Flaherty pitched six shutout innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brewers 5-2 on Friday night.

The Cardinals won for the ninth time in 10 games and pulled within a half-game of the Brewers for the National League’s second wild-card spot.

Milwaukee has dropped three of four.

Flaherty (7-6) gave up three hits, walked three and struck out seven. The Brewers had only two runners reach second base against the rookie, who has allowed two earned runs in his past 19 innings pitched.

Friday marked his third start against Milwaukee this year and fourth in his young career. In 18 innings this season, he’s allowed two earned runs in 18 innings and struck out 29.

Bud Norris earned his 24th save in 28 opportunities.

Freddy Peralta (5-4) went six innings, giving up three earned runs. He allowed three hits, walked three, and struck out five. It was his third loss in his last four decisions.

Wong made a nifty play to start the eighth by charging a hopper that bounded over pitcher Jordan Hick’s head. Wong snagged the ball in his glove and made a hard sidearm throw to get Keon Broxton at first. That turned out to be important because the Brewers scored twice that inning and cut the lead to 3-2.

He capped his night with a two-run double in the eighth to pad the Cardinals’ lead to 5-2.

Jedd Gyorko hit his 10th home run of the season to open the fourth. The shot to left field gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead.

St. Louis took an early lead after Ozuna followed Yadier Molina’s single and a double from Jose Martinez with a hard grounder up the middle.

The Brewers threatened a comeback in the eighth. They loaded the bases against Hicks, and Jesus Aguilar hit a two-run single to pull the score to 3-2 with one out. But Travis Shaw fouled out to left field and Jonathan Schoop’s flair to shallow center field was caught by shortstop Paul DeJong.

UP NEXT

Braves: LHP Wade Miley (2-1, 2.23) looks for his first win since he went seven innings July 21 in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was his longest outing of the season.

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (12-3, 2.85) has won five consecutive games. He went seven innings in each of his last three starts and the Cardinals have lost just one of the past eight games in which he started.

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the 2018 Preseason Volleyball rankings on Friday.

Locally in Class 1A East Mills is ranked 7th to start the season. In Class 2A Sidney checks in at 6th, St. Albert 7th, Tri-Center is 8th, and Treynor is 10th. In Class 3A Kumper Catholic opens as the top ranked team. Red Oak comes in at #7. In Class 4A Lewis Central opens the year at 9th.

Check out the full rankings here: preseasonvbrankings81718