The Falcons finished second in the NFC South the past two seasons. This year, they were able to break streak by defeating the Carolina Panthers at the Georgia Dome on Sunday 31-10 and win their first NFC South title since 2004. They also clinched the No. 1 seed in the playoffs which is the first time the Falcons have been able to accomplish that feat since 1980.
“It was a fun day for Atlanta Falcons fans,” head coach Mike Smith said. “I’m really excited for our football team to go through the 17 weeks and be the division champs in the South.”
After a rough go for the Falcons’ offense last week against New Orleans, they wanted to start the game fast to make sure Carolina had no chance of making a comeback. They were able to do that, as they produced a 10-play, 77-yard drive which ended with a Matt Ryan 6-yard touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez. The Pro Bowl tight ended finished his day with six catches for 53 yards to go along with his touchdown reception.
“It’s another step in the right direction,” Gonzalez said. “But at the same time, I’ve been in this situation before. I’m going to enjoy it and celebrate it tonight. We just have to stay focused and keep doing what we did out there today and just keep getting better. It’s going to be fun.”
Later in the first quarter after forcing the Carolina Panthers defense to go three-and-out, Eric Weems returned the punt 49 yards for a touchdown to go up 14-0. It was Weems first punt return touchdown of the season and second retuned touchdown of the year, returning a kickoff for a score in the game against Tampa Bay last month.
The Falcons could have put the game away early in the second quarter, as they were able to get to the Carolina 4-yard line after the Panthers were forced to punt. But Ryan missed Roddy White on a fourth-and-one play which led to zero points for the Birds. They were able to bounce back from it later in the quarter as Ryan throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White to go up 21-0 with 56 seconds left in the first half. White finished his day with six catches for 62 yards. White ends the regular season with 115 catches for 1,389 yards which are both franchise records.
“I don’t know if there is a receiver that has a better year than Roddy White,” Smith said. “We knew he got the receptions and we were tracking whether he was going to make the yards. We wanted to get him out as soon as possible. As soon as got that final catch, he was going to be standing on the sideline.”
Carolina was able to get on the board early in the third quarter with a John Kasay 23-yard field goal to cut the Falcons lead to 18. That didn’t last long because the Falcons recovered a Panthers onside kick which put them at the Carolina 45-yard line. That led to a Matt Bryant 24-yard field goal to put the lead back at 21.
The Falcons were able to put the game out of reach towards the end of the third quarter with a nine-play 54-yard drive which ended with a Michael Turner 3-yard touchdown to increase the lead to 28. Turner ends his season with 1,371 yards and 12 touchdowns.
As for Ryan, he ends the day with 236 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, he has thrown for 3,705 yards and 28 touchdowns. He has also won 33 games as a starter which he is tied with Dan Marino for the most wins for a starting quarterback in his first three seasons. But Ryan is focused on what’s ahead.
“We still have a lot of work left, but we’re excited to be playing at home,” Ryan said. “I’m happy for the fans who will have a chance to see a playoff game here in two weeks.”
As far has who the Falcons will play, it won’t be known until when all the games go final tonight. But the Falcons don’t care who they play because they know it’s going to be a fight.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time,” Falcons center Todd McClure said. “Whoever comes in here, they are going to have a tough crowd to deal with and a team that’s hungry.”
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