Falcons, Patriots earn trips to Super Bowl LI
New England routs Pittsburgh; Atlanta smashes Green Bay
What a grand finale. The Atlanta Falcons said farewell to the Georgia Dome and punched a ticket to Super Bowl LI with the type of style and panache that will be talked about in these parts for ages.
“A really, really cool way to send out the Georgia Dome,” said Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who left his mark with four scoring strikes and his first rushing touchdown of the season. Aaron who? The Falcons crushed the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in an NFC Championship Game that also will be remembered as the place where the table ran out for Aaron Rodgers, the magical quarterback who came up with few answers for the young, fast and hungry defense on the other side.
Then again, Rodgers not only had to deal with Atlanta’s defense, he also had to try to keep up with a Falcons offense triggered by Ryan, the presumptive NFL MVP, and his big-play sidekick, Julio Jones.
Yes, the stars showed up for Atlanta when it mattered most.
Ryan passed for 392 yards while Jones caught nine passes for 180 yards and two TDs and provided the signature highlight.
“He’s a beast. An absolute stud,” Ryan said of Jones. “I’ve been so lucky to play with him for as long as I have. He was impressive. I know he wasn’t feeling his best. But he was a warrior.”
Jones proved that when he caught a pass over the middle in the third quarter and used a stiff arm to shake free from Damarious Randall en route to a 73yard TD, making it 31-0.
By that time, though, it wasn’t so much a game. It was a coronation.
The Falcons are NFC champi-
ons again, earning the second Super Bowl berth in the franchise’s 51-year history and doing it in the second year under energetic coach Dan Quinn.
With only five players (including Ryan and Jones) remaining from the 2012 squad that advanced to a similar spot but was beaten by the San Francisco 49ers, this is clearly a new deal. Seven of the starters on the defense that thwarted Rodgers have played less than two full NFL seasons, including three rookies. A fourth rookie lines up as the nickel back.
“The success is always in the struggle,” said safety Ricardo Allen, who had one of two Falcons takeaways by intercepting Rodgers on a heave deep over the middle.
It’s a great formula headed to Houston for the game vs. the New England Patriots. If the defense holds, the offense will surely put up the points.
But this was just a big ol’ party, a fitting treat to mark the occasion of the last football game played at raucous Georgia Dome, the team’s home for a quarter-century.
For a city that knows so much about championship droughts and heartbreak — the city’s pro sports teams have combined for one league title — at least the Falcons rose up to make the finale in the dome an event worth savoring.
When it was over, the people made even more noise. They danced. They screamed. They waved their white towels with civic pride.
They deserved it, too. Many of these fans hung in there while enduring the fall of Michael Vick, the reign of Bobby Petrino and that stunner of a title-game loss four years ago.
But there’s a new chapter now — with a team that has risen to a new throne.