Falcons 40, Chiefs 24: Matt Ryan completed 23 of 31 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score as visiting Atlanta shredded Kansas City’s depleted defense.

Julio Jones caught six passes for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Tony Gonzalez hauled in a 7-yard score in his first game against the Chiefs since being traded away prior to the 2009 campaign.

The Falcons spent most of their time in the air on offense to take advantage of a Kansas City defense that was without four starters, including two in the secondary. The absence of pass rusher Tamba Hali and nose tackle Anthony Toribio made it tough to get pressure on Ryan, who was sacked only once.

Ryan and Jones hooked up twice in the first half on touchdown passes of eight and 14 yards but the Chiefs hung around, tying it at 17-17 on Matt Cassel’s 5-yard scramble with 3:38 left in the half.

Atlanta capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive with a field goal just before the break to take a 20-17 lead into the locker room.

Kansas City kicker Ryan Succop missed a 40-yard field goal on the first drive of the third quarter and the Falcons took control over the next five minutes. Ryan completed a pair of long passes to Jones on the ensuing drive before keeping it for a 5-yard touchdown scramble.

John Abraham sacked Cassel and forced a fumble 52 seconds later, and Ryan needed only one play to find Gonzalez over the middle. The veteran tight end dunked the ball over the goal post, a celebration he made famous years ago with Kansas City.

Cassel ended up accounting for three turnovers with the fumble and a pair of interceptions. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 258 yards and one touchdown.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Hali (suspension), CB Brandon Flowers (foot), S Kendrick Lewis (shoulder) and Toribio (ankle) were all missing for the Chiefs. … Kansas City’s RB tandem of Jamaal Charles (87 yards on 16 carries) and Peyton Hillis (16 yards on seven carries) were held out of the end zone. … Gonzalez finished with five catches to extend his individual record for receptions at Arrowhead Stadium to 552. … Ryan had totaled four touchdowns in a game only two other times in his career.