In a game where the score didn’t do justice to their dominance, the Atlanta Falcons emerged from San Diego with a 22-16 victory over the Chargers.
Atlanta appeared to have control of the game most of the way, but three turnovers and multiple missed chances offensively allowed San Diego to hang around. And with 2:46 to go in the game, they received the ball at their own 19 knowing a touchdown would win the game.
But the drive was over before it even started. A shared sack between Jonathan Babineaux and John Abraham forced the Chargers into a nearly impossible situation at third-and-19. They punted the ball away soon after and the Falcons successfully ran out the clock.
Although the Chargers had a chance to win the game, they struggled mightily from the opening kickoff. In the end, they only accumulated just over 200 yards of offense. As for the defense, they gave up a 207-yard passing day to Matt Ryan and 120 yards on the ground to Michael Turner.
But the Falcons let San Diego hang around. They drove into Charger territory on their first two drives and only managed two field goals. Meanwhile, Harry Douglas fumbled a punt as he tried to play it on the bounce at his own 18. Anthony Waters recovered the loose ball at the Atlanta 20. Just over a minute later, LaDainian Tomlinson was in the end zone after a 3-yard score and the Chargers led 7-6 after one quarter.
But Atlanta continued to have its way, although it didn’t completely show on the scoreboard. Matt Ryan and Justin Peelle hooked up for the road team’s first touchdown of the game with 9:32 left in the half. The rookie put the perfect touch on the throw, finding Peelle in between two defenders in the end zone from 18 yards away.
Things looked even better for Atlanta soon after. John Abraham forced Philip Rivers into intentional grounding in the end zone to score a safety and extend the lead to 15-8. Then the Atlanta offense took the ball and drove straight down the field yet again. In a drive that ate up close to seven minutes of clock, the Falcons had first-and-goal from the San Diego 2. After twice feeding Turner and once Ovie Mughelli in the run game, Atlanta netted just 1 yard. Head coach Mike Smith elected to go for six on fourth-and-goal, and Turner was stopped at the goal line by Quentin Jammer just before the ball crossed the plain.
The Falcons came out firing again the third quarter, driving to the San Diego 20 right off the bat. But Brian Finneran was stripped by Jammer as he stretched for the first down, and Eric Weddle scooped up the ball and raced 86 yards to close the gap to 15-13.
But the Falcons defense continued to play well in the third quarter. And another long Atlanta drive gave them a two-score lead. Ryan found Douglas on an out route for a 5-yard touchdown, making the score 22-13 early in the fourth.
The Falcons may have thought they had iced the game twice on the next drive. First they yielded a 28-yarder to Jacob Hester on a fake punt to keep the possession alive. Atlanta held strong again when Jamaal Anderson blocked a 43-yard field goal attempt from Nate Kaeding.
But once again, Atlanta let the Chargers back in. Four plays after the block, Turner gave the ball right back when he fumbled at midfield. Kaeding cashed in on a second bite of the cherry and nailed a 28-yarder to close the gap to 22-16.
Outside of the the final score, the stats were overwhelmingly in favor of the visitors. Roddy White had yet another 100-yard receiving game, catching six passes for 112 yards. The Atlanta offense was also 8-of-16 on third downs, while San Diego was only 3-for-12. The Chargers ran for just 70 yards, and Atlanta held the ball for 34:58 in the game. Jammer helped keep the Chargers close, notching eight tackles and forcing two fumbles on the afternoon.
The Falcons now sit at 8-4. They still sit one game behind the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the lead in the NFC South division. Meanwhile, the Chargers’ playoff hopes likely went down the drain with the loss, as they fell to 4-8 on the season, three games behind division leader Denver.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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