FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — If the Atlanta Falcons are going to rebound from last season’s 4-12 mark, they must ride the arm of quarterback Matt Ryan and his wide receivers.

The revamped defense has been a major disappointment through four games as they get ready to face quarterback Eli Manning and the New York Giants on the road. The unit was reconstructed to stop the run, but has given up 171 yards to the Bengals and 241 to the Minnesota Vikings, who were without star running back Adrian Peterson.

The Falcons seem to know that they are going to have to win with offense. They are ready to win shootouts the rest of the season with the hope that the defense eventually turns the corner.

Before being decimated by injuries along the offensive line, the offense posted 28 points and had 411 yards against the Vikings.

“This team was basically built offensively with all of our players,” wide receiver Roddy White said. “In games like (the 41-28 loss to Minnesota), we have to find a way to win on offense. Even when it is a shootout and we were able to take the lead, I felt like we need to score another touchdown or two.”

Ryan agreed with White.

“Yeah, absolutely we can,” Ryan said after being asked if the offense could win a high-scoring games.

Vikings rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater won his first NFL start with efficient passing, opportunistic running and no turnovers.

But Falcons coach Mike Smith said his team’s lackluster defense contributed to Bridgewater’s big day in the 41-28 victory.

“He’s a first-round draft pick for a reason but we did not play well,” Smith said. “It was a lot about us sometimes and not about him. But my hat’s off to him. He executed and put the offense in the end zone.”

Bridgewater, the No. 32 overall selection in the draft, was 19-for-30 for 317 yards and also ran five times for 27 yards with a touchdown. During nine possessions before he left with an ankle injury, Bridgewater led the Vikings to four touchdowns, two field goals, and a two-point conversion.

Smith said Minnesota’s short passing game worked early because missed tackles by the Falcons led to extra yards. According to Pro Football Focus, 16 of Bridgewater’s 30 pass attempts traveled less than 10 yards through the air and three went longer than 20 yards.

Smith said the Vikings also committed extra blockers to help protect Bridgewater, who wasn’t sacked and was hit just once. Bridgewater escaped to make plays when defenders did get to him; that’s how he scored on a 13-yard run.

“They executed and we didn’t,” Smith said.

But if that problem continues and the Falcons defensive players are not talented enough to execute, the offensive players are ready to crank up the scoring machine. But White knows that he has to play better.

After missing a game, he was targeted on 14 passes and caught just four for 73 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown.

“I don’t think I played very well in the first half,” White said. “I’ve got to play better and quite possibly we can get more points if I’d hung onto the ball.”

White had at least three drops and had his hands on a few other passes.

“I just didn’t play well,” White said.

Ryan didn’t want to single out White for the offense, which bogged down after three offensive linemen left the game with injuries.

“That comes down to the (offense) across the board,” Ryan said. “We had opportunities to make plays, but I thought Roddy did a good job for us today. Obviously, he was limited at practice (last) week, coming off the hamstring from the week before. I thought he went out there and played really hard for us.”

Moving forward, the offense, which put up 37 and 56 points in wins at home, is ready to press the pedal to the metal and score more points.

“We just have to find a way to get it done,” White said. “Offensively, I felt like we had some opportunities. We kind of let them go. We could have scored some points and helped our defense out. But we didn’t get it done. It starts with me, I have to play better.”

Ryan, as a leader of the team, said he’ll make sure that the locker room doesn’t turn into a fractured defense vs. offense situation.

“We are all in it together,” Ryan said. “Win or lose. We’ve got the locker room to be able to do it.”

REPORT CARD VS. VIKINGS

PASSING OFFENSE: C – Somehow Matt Ryan rallied the Falcons to take a 28-27 lead and put them in position to steal the victory. He completed 25 of 41 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He had a passer rating of 87.2. With Harry Douglas out and Julio Jones double-covered, Ryan tried to lean on Roddy White, but the four-time Pro Bowler didn’t come through. He was targeted on 14 passes, but only came up with four catches for 73 yards and a 24-yard touchdown. Jones caught six passes for 82 yards. Devin Hester had five catches for 70 yards, including a 36-yard catch on a swing pass out of the backfield. Tight end Levine Toilolo was pressed into service at right tackle.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-plus – The Falcons rushed for 123 yards on 22 carries. Antone Smith led the backs with 62 yards on four carries. He took a simple off-tackle run for a 48-yard touchdown. Steven Jackson, who gave up on a few runs too early and cut back into traffic, rushed for 49 yards on 13 carries.

PASS DEFENSE: C – Operating with no pass rush, the underneath coverage was porous. Vikings wide receiver Jarius Wright, who had eight catches for 132 yards, killed the Falcons out of the slot. Cordarrelle Patterson had two catches for 22 yards and Greg Jennings had three grabs for 72 yards.

RUSH DEFENSE: F – Paul Soliai and Tyson Jackson were added to stop the run. The Falcons gave up 241 yards rushing. Paul Worrilow led the team with nine tackles and Prince Shembo, who made his first start, had eight tackles. They must get off blocks and get to the ball faster.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C – Punter Matt Bosher averaged 42.2 yards net on five punts and placed two punts inside the 20-yard line. The kickoff coverage team gave up a 49-yard return to Patterson.

COACHING: F – The offensive game plan was sabotaged by White’s drops and the injuries to the offensive line. The Falcons had 10 days to get ready for the Vikings, but they appeared confounded too often by rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and made rookie running back Jerick McKinnon look like Adrian Peterson. The problems on defense appear to be terminal and could lead to another long season.