Playing for pride: Atlanta Falcons pull off late rally against New York Jets

Atlanta's DeCoud lifts up CB Grimes after his interception (AP Photo/Kathy Willens).

The day after learning they'd been eliminated from the playoffs and in the midst of a frigid Meadowlands on Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons could have easily convinced themselves there was no use in even trying. 

Instead, the battled the conditions, one of the league's top-ranked defenses in the New York Jets, and even snowballs from Jets fans to pull out a 10-7 upset, bringing their 2009 record to 7-7.

It was never pretty and the Falcons went almost three quarters without scoring, but they got the points when it mattered most.

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, making his first start since November 29, struggled and finished the day 16/34 for 152 yards. However, he limited his mistakes and came up big when it was time for Atlanta to put the Jets away. The second-year quarterback said he felt little rust in his first game back, despite the difficult weather.

"I think there were some throws that I would have liked to have made better, no question about it, but that’s every game," said Ryan. "My rhythm felt good, my timing felt good. Considering everything we played in today – there was some wind out there – I felt like we did a nice job in the passing game. We had no turnovers, which anytime you play in these types of situations, in these kinds of conditions, it’s going to be important, and I thought we did a great job with that."

Ryan connected with tight end Tony Gonzalez on a six-yard touchdown pass with 1:42 remaining to give the Falcons back the lead they squandered late in the first quarter on a Mark Sanchez 65-yard touchdown pass.

The Jets quarterback connected with wide receiver Braylon Edwards to rest the score at 7-3, where it would remain until Ryan iced the win with the fourth-quarter comeback.

After Atlanta's defense, who had played strong against the top-rushing attack in the NFL all day, allowed the Jets to drive to the Falcons' 19-yard line, Atlanta's special teams unit helped the offense remain in position to win the game when defensive end Chauncey Davis blocked kicker Jay Feely's field goal attempt, one of three New York failed to connect on in the game. End Kroy Biermann recovered the ball and Atlanta began another game-winning drive.

Ryan and the Falcons chipped away at the Jets defense before a pass to receiver Roddy White went for 16 yards and a face mask penalty tacked on another 15, bringing Atlanta to New York's 27. Running back Jason Snelling, who filled in for Michael Turner when he left the game following his first rush of the game after re-aggravating his right ankle sprain, rushed up the middle for 20 yards, the longest run by either team. Snelling finished the day with 16 rushes for 59 yards.

The drive appeared stalled until Ryan found Gonzalez on fourth-and-6 as five Jets defenders converged on the tight end. He proved once again to be a reliable red zone target for Ryan, catching his sixth touchdown catch of the season. The ten-time Pro Bowler caught three passes for 32 yards for Atlanta.

"It was a great call from Mike Mularkey upstairs," said Ryan. "We had motion come across and nobody went with the motion. We figured we were probably going to get some kind of zone coverage and ended up getting the coverage we thought we would get. There’s no better runner of that route in this league than Tony Gonzalez. He ran a perfect route and was in the right spot – the split in the zone – and I threw the ball high and away and he brought it down. That’s what he does in those kinds of situations. He seems to step up and make plays."

Cornerback Brent Grimes removed all doubt of a Falcons victory when he intercepted his second Sanchez pass on the day with a little more than one minute remaining.

"He had two really big interceptions." said Smith. "Brent’s play throughout the season has been fairly steady and it was nice to see him get the opportunity to make some game-changing plays and I thought both of those plays he made were game-changing. There was the one in the first quarter and then the one to seal the game at the end."

Heading into Sunday Atlanta's defense ranked in the bottom third of almost every important defensive statistic, but through their own will and with a little help from the weather, they held New York to 99 yards rushing, including 52 from Thomas Jones, and picked off Sanchez three times.

"The key for us, and we said it all week, was that this was going to be a physical football game." Smith said in his post-game comments. It was going to be a two chin-strap game and we knew that coming in here and we had to fit the run and it was an attitude. I thought our attitude and preparation all week was good and we fit the run extremely well. This is the number one rushing offense in the NFL and in this kind of weather it tends to go toward the rushing offense, but I thought our guys did a great job containing the run. They fit it up extremely well."

The Falcons spoke all week about playing out their string of games with slim playoff hopes on the line as professionals. They vowed to continue to play hard and not quit, a trait they'd displayed all season. Sunday's performance showed their words in action and put them one step closer to ending the season with a winning record. Smith said he'd not mentioned the playoff eliminating win to his team until after the game.

"I never even mentioned it to this football team," the head coach said. "It had no bearing on who was going to play today or what we were going to do. The first time I mentioned it to them was after the game today. They are aware of it, but it’s our job to go out and play the game of football and have fun and when I say have fun that means we’re playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played, and that’s what this team did today."

Atlanta returns home next Sunday to the Georgia Dome to face the 5-9 Buffalo Bills.

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