ATLANTA -- Having gotten the help they needed earlier in the day from Green Bay and Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn, the Falcons took no chances on Sunday.
Jumping out to a 42-point lead with less than seven minutes left before halftime against hapless Tampa Bay in what likely marked the end of the Raheem Morris era, Atlanta locked up the NFC’s No. 5 playoff seed with a 45-24 victory in their regular-season finale at the Georgia Dome. In doing so, the Falcons also avoided having to return to New Orleans to face the NFC South champion Saints in the first round next weekend.
By avoiding the Saints, the Falcons will not have to play a team to which it has lost five of six meetings over the last three seasons. On Dec. 26, the Saints routed Atlanta 45-16 at the Superdome. The Saints’ offense has been in high-gear lately, as it scored 45 points for the second straight game with a victory on Sunday against Carolina.
“The main thing we wanted to do was to flush out of our system what happened last week and play some good football today,” said Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, who signed a one-year contract extension earlier in the day. “Obviously, I didn’t think the score was going to be as lopsided as it was, but I’ll take it. It’s just good momentum to take into the playoffs.
“It’s just a step in the right direction. It doesn’t mean, obviously, we’ll go out and duplicate what we did today next week. Whatever team that we play, it obviously gets a lot tougher from here on it. But it’s good. It’s good confidence from here on out.”
Powered by Flynn’s record-setting day, the Packers defeated Detroit (10-6), 45-41, knocking Detroit into the NFC’s No. 6 seed combined with the Falcons’ victory. Atlanta defeated Detroit, 23-16, on Oct. 23, giving the Falcons the tiebreaker.
As a result, Atlanta (10-6) will play the NFC East champion New York Giants (9-7) at the Meadowlands next Sunday at 1 p.m.
Falcons coach Mike Smith is looking for his first playoff victory in his third trip to the postseason.
Smith said he had no thoughts about not having to play New Orleans, which might be playing as well as any team in the NFL right now.
“I don’t have any thoughts about where, who, when,” Smith said. “I know we’re in the second season and there’s twenty other teams in the National Football League that would trade places with us and we will start our preparation in about eight-thirty tonight when they kick that ballgame off.”
Falcons players set numerous franchise and personal bests on Sunday while sending the Bucs (4-12) to their 10th straight defeat. In Smith’s four seasons, the Falcons have gone 43-21 in the regular season and posted a winning record each season.
Perhaps, most significantly, wide receiver Roddy White became the franchise’s all-time leader in receiving yards with 7,374. Quarterback Matt Ryan passed for 106 yards, creating a new franchise single-season record that surpassed Jeff George’s former one. Ryan, who only had nine attempts, completing six of them (back-up Chris Redman relieved him in the second quarter), threw two touchdown passes -- of 17 and 48 yards to rookie Julio Jones -- for a personal best 29 this season.
Michael Turner posted his 49th rushing touchdown with the team in four seasons, breaking Gerald Riggs’ old record, which took Riggs seven seasons to create. Additionally, Jones’ seven touchdown receptions set a rookie mark.
Smith said that Turner ran “downhill” and with his shoulders “north-south.” He noted that the team was aware that its running attack had trended downwards in recent weeks. Entering Sunday, Turner had surpassed the 100-yard mark only once in his previous eight games. He rushed for 172 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns, including an 81-yarder, and retired early.
“That was the talk all week with the (offensive) line and myself, ‘Let’s get some production out of the run game,’” Turner said. “We’ve been lagging a little bit. We’ve been winning some games still, but it’s not how we want to play and not how we want to produce out there.”
The Falcons will face a tough road ahead. They are a far better home team than road team and they will be on the road starting next weekend. They were 4-4 on the road this season with only one win over a team with a winning record, Detroit, while going 6-2 at home. Under Smith, they have gone 26-6 at home in the regular season while only posting a mark above .500 on the road once – last season when they went 6-2.
Nonetheless, they’re still looking to catch some playoff magic.
“Seeds do not matter,” Turner said. “It’s been proven over time. Seeds do not matter.”
Turnovers played a role in the Bucs’ disintegration on Sunday. Cornerback Dominique Franks, starting for injured starter Brent Grimes (knee), a Pro-Bowler last season, intercepted Josh Freeman with 3:16 left in the first quarter and then Jones scored on the next play to make it 21-0.
Middle linebacker Curtis Lofton returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown with 10:43 left before halftime to make it 35-0.
After the game, Morris said that the team will need to “re-dedicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason.” Yet few will be surprised if Morris is not the Bucs’ coach next season. He was asked about his future.
“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” he said. “I’m going to work tomorrow until they tell me to stop. This is not the time to talk about this type of stuff. We have to go out there and play football and that’s what we’ll do.”
