National Football League

Delivering the knockout

Published Oct. 13, 2010 10:14 a.m. ET

foxsports

FLOWERY BRANCH --- The battle with the Cleveland Browns went down like a heavyweight boxing match.

The Browns were ahead in points, leading much of the second and third quarters.

But trailing 10-6 midway through the third, the Falcons didn't panic and eventually landed some hay-makers with Roddy White's 45-yard touchdown catch and Kroy Biermann's interception return for a touchdown.

"We knew going into the game against the Browns that they were a much better team than their record both offensively and defensively," Falcons coach Mike Smith said. "We knew we had to be patient."

Here's a rewind look at five key plays from the game:

Burner breaks loose

First down, 10 yards to go, Falcons' ball on Atlanta's 33 with 3:34 left in the second quarter.

Formation: I-formation with two tight ends and one wide receiver.

Play: The Falcons received some effective interior blocking from center Todd McClure, guards Justin Blalock and Harvey Dahl and fullback Ovie Mughelli. Dahl climbed into the second level and mauled linebacker Chris Cocong. Mughelli cleared out linebacker Eric Barton and Turner was in business. Browns safety T.J. Ward, who the Cleveland locals have nicknamed the "Trauma Ward" for his big hits, came in low and missed. The other safety, Abe Elam, came in high and got tossed away by Turner. Elam regrouped and gave chase.

Result: Elam forced Turner out of bounds 55 yards later at the 12-yard line.

Turner: "It was just some great blocking up front and the opportunity presented itself. I saw a hole and exploded through there. The easy part was just to run. The guys did a great job of blocking."

Browns block a FG

Fourth down, 10 yards to go, Falcons' ball on Cleveland's 12 with 1:46 to play in the second quarter.

Formation: Field goal kick unit.

Play: Four plays after Turner's big gainer, Matt Bryant lined up for a 30-yard field goal that would have given the Falcons a 9-7 lead. But for the second week in row, the Falcons had a kick blocked. The Browns flooded the right side of the formation.

Result: T.J. Ward, who was set up by Eric Wright, blocked the kick.

Smith: "That's something that I can assure you, as a coaching staff, we will address. ... When there are opportunities to put points on the board, you have to put points on the board."

Stacking up Peyton Hillis

Second down, goal to go, Browns' ball on Atlanta's 7 with 13:04 left in the third quarter.

Formation: Base 4-3 defense.

Play: The Browns sent plow horse Peyton Hillis at the Falcons. Linebacker Curtis Lofton met him in the hole and held on until the posse arrived. Mike Peterson and Thomas DeCoud were the first to convene and by end of the play, eight Falcons were on Hillis. The gang-tackling stopped him at the 2-yard line.

Result: If Hillis had reached the end zone, the Browns would have taken a 14-6 lead. But after a bobbled handoff on third down, Cleveland had to settle for a 19-yard field goal to make it 10-6.

Smith: "When you've got a big burly back like Peyton Hillis that's coming down hill, you're going to have to make sure that you knock the line of scrimmage back and that's what we did."

White gets open deep

First down, 10 yards to go, Falcons' ball on Cleveland's 45 with 8:05 left in the third quarter.

Formation: Single back with two tight ends and two wide receivers.

Play: Justin Peelle came in motion from left to right, but he stayed inside to block. The Falcons kept seven players in for protection and released three receivers. Wide receiver Harry Douglas, who was on the right, ran a square out that he broke off at Cleveland's 22-yard line. Tight end Tony Gonzalez was on the left side inside of wide receiver Roddy White. He ran a curl to the middle of the field, breaking it off at Cleveland's 31, where the safety came up to cover his route. That left White in one-on-one coverage with cornerback Sheldon Brown. White separated from Brown at the 18 and Matt Ryan tossed a pretty ball that White hauled down in the end zone with Brown nipping at his pink cleats.

Result: The touchdown gave the Falcons a 13-10 lead that they would never relinquish.

Ryan: "Roddy did a fantastic job of setting up the route, of selling his route to the outside. He was in man [coverage] one-on-one and I just put it up there and let Roddy run underneath it."

The tip, catch and roll

Third down, 7 yards to go, Browns' ball on Cleveland's 47 with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter.

Formation: Nickel defense with a six man front.

Play: The Falcons rushed four of the six players on the line and sent nickel back Christopher Owens on a blitz. Defensive end Kroy Biermann was flexed on the right side and when Cleveland quarterback Jake Delhomme went to pass, Biermann swatted it and then caught it with a dive. After his tip, catch and roll, Biermann used his left hand to push up from the ground before he could get touched. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry blocked Cleveland tackle Tony Pashos. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the run was that Biermann wrapped the ball up with two hands and then tried to stiff arm Chansi Stuckey (Northside-Warner Robins) before scoring.

Result: Biermann scored his second career touchdown and put the Falcons ahead 20-10.

Biermann: "The tackle went down. They were going to throw what appeared to be a quick smoke screen or just a quick out. I jumped and batted it up and looked up and it was there to catch and I caught it. I rolled up and started running. I had to get my bearings or something. ... I knew I was going to try and get up. Maybe I was just looking to see which way I needed to run."

Next for Falcons

Who: at Eagles

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

TV; radio: Fox; 92.9 FM