The Falcons got their winning record, but it fell short of their season expectations.

Atlanta’s 20-10 victory on Sunday over Tampa Bay gave the team their first back to back winning seasons in franchise history. However that feat didn’t provide them with very much consolation for the fact that they missed the playoffs.

Mike Smith, Atlanta head coach said, we want our football team to be relevant year after year. We talk about that.

Matt Ryan had 223 yards passing along with two touchdowns to lead Atlanta (9-7) to victory and close out the season on a winning streak of three games.

Smith added, when you are relevant you have that winning record. That’s what gives you the opportunity to be in the playoff hunt. This year we didn’t make it. However we did get nine wins this season. We are very proud of that.

The year was a very disappointing one for the Falcons, but not anywhere near as frustrating as the one endured by Tampa Bay under head coach Raheem Morris.

Tampa Bay (3-13) ended their first season playing for the youngest coach in the NFL. It was the worst record for the team since 1991. The Bucs during their previous two weeks on the road were able to upset New Orleans and Seattle. However it’s uncertain whether that was enough to save the 33 year old head coach’s job.

Last January the Glazer family brought in Morris to replace Jon Gruden. They haven’t publicly commented on their coach’s future.

Morris, reiterating that he wasn’t reading anything into silence from the ownership said, you guys really didn’t give me any votes of confidence either. Tomorrow you could get fired too. It’s just no one is asking you the question.

I will coach here until I am told to go. When I was thirteen both my pop and mom got laid off. No one told them they would get fired. It just is reality in the world that we live in.

Starting for Michael Turner, Atlanta’s injured leading rusher, Jason Snelling had 147 yards rushing in 25 carries. A lot of the damage occurred during the fourth quarter when the Falcons intercepted Josh Freeman, Bucs rookie quarterback, twice.

Ryan had a two yard touchdown pass to Justin Peelle as well as one to Roddy White for 12 yards. The touchdown to White mid fourth quarter snapped a 10-10 tie. Ryan went 23 for 35 and threw two interceptions. Sabby Piscatelli’s pick off of Ryan near midfield provided the Buccaneers with an opportunity to take control of the game.

However Christopher Owens, who earlier that quarter had been beat on the game tying touchdown score, on the very next play picked off Freeman’s pass and returned it for a total of 13 yards down to the 44 yard line of the Bucs. Ryan connected with White five plays later for the go ahead touchdown

During the second half Snelling had 131 yards rushing. His run of 22 yards led to the touchdown by White. He also had gains of 22, 21, and 11 yards on the drive that resulted in a field goal by Matt Bryant with a minute left to play.

Snelling said, I felt like definitely I was into a rhythm, into a zone. Coach kept giving me the football, the guys blocked for me and I made the plays.

Despite the fact that he sat out five of the last seven games for Atlanta, Turner still came up only 129 yards short of having what what have been his second season gaining 1,000 yards. He only had 13 carries following the loss to Carolina in Week 10. Down the stretch the absence of any consistent running attack put more of a burden on Ryan.

Ryan said, the win was huge for us and also to finish our season out winning three games in a row. Last season as a rookie Ryan led the Falcons into the playoffs with their 11 wins. It says a lot about or guys in our locker room.

Offensively Tampa Bay sputtered. They had to settle for a field goal of 36 yards by Connor Barth after Eric Weems of Atlanta fumbled the opening kickoff which was recovered by Tanard Jackson on the 28 yard line of the Falcons.

Just a week after gaining 100 yards for the first time in more than three years, Tampa Bay’s Cadillac Williams didn’t find much room to run in. The Buccaneers were out gained 179 yards to 52 yards and trailed the game at halftime 10-3. Williams only had 26 yards rushing in the first of his 13 carries.

The Buccaneers were able to tie the score on an 11 play, 70 yard drive after they blocked a field goal. They scored a touchdown on an eight yard pass from Freeman over to Antonio Bryant.

On the drive Freeman completed an 11 yard pass to Kellen Winslow as well as a 7 yard pass over to Maurice Stovall. He also got a key block while avoiding a sack when he pushed Tony Michalek, the umpire, into a defender who was pursing him before he threw to Jerramy Stevens to complete a 14 yard pass.

Freeman went 16 for 32 for a totalof174 yards passing. Williams had 40 yards rushing on 19 carries.

The Bucs will now wait for word on Morris.

Jackson, who had an interception in Sunday’s game said, he should be the coach for us. It was his first year. He came in and worked with what there was for him to work with. Next year it will be a lot different.

Ronde Barber, cornerback, agreed with Jackson.

Barber said, the guys are very strong on him. Simple as that. I don’t need to defend him. Also he doesn’t need to defend himself.

The improving defense of the Falcons left the offense of the Bills in a rut that was familiar.

Matt Ryan had three passes for touchdowns, including one of 42 yards over to Roddy White on the first play of the game for Atlanta. The Bills never did challenge the Falcons in Atlanta’s 31-3 win on Sunday over the Bills and Terrell Owens.

Terrell Owens became only the sixth man in the history of the NFL to have 1,000 career receptions. During the second Owens was able to reach that milestone on a pass of 8 yards from Brian Brohm.

It was one of the Bills (5-10) rare highlights. Buffalo only managed 178 total yards. That included 40 yards rushing, their season low.

Mike Smith, Falcons coach said, for the second week in a row I think our defense was very solid.

Atlanta came into the game off of their 10-7 victory over the Jets. They had two sacks and two interceptions. Buffalo only converted 2 out of 10 on their third down conversion attempts. They have lost three games out of their last four and on their third down conversions are just 7 for 45 during that stretch.

Brohm went 17 for 29 for a total of 146 yards and threw two interceptions during his debut in the NFL. The second year player started in place of Bills quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick who were both out with injured ankles.

Perry Fewell, interim head coach for Buffalo said, our guys did fight hard. We just don’t have the firepower we need. We didn’t have enough in order to make this game into what we wanted it to be.

With the win Atlanta (8-7) has the opportunity for posting winning records in back to back seasons for the very first time in the history of their 44 year franchise. Last week Atlanta was eliminated from the playoffs. They close out their season next week in Tampa Bay.

Mike Peterson, linebacker said, as far as making the playoffs things didn’t really go they way we wanted them to. However we still can finish by having a winning record. I am sure the organization and fans will be happy about that.

Atlanta led 10-0 in the game and then added two touchdowns in the third quarter. Ryan threw a touchdown pass of 12 yards to Marty Booker. Lawrence Sidbury, defensive end, recovered a fumble and returned the ball 11 yards to give the Falcons a lead of 24-0.

During the fourth quarter, Ryan added another score with a touchdown pass of 5 yards to White.

Ryan went 18 for 35 for a a total of 250 yards passing. During his two seasons as the starting quarterback in the Georgia Dome Ryan’s record is 13-1.

Brohm got signed on November 19 off of the practice squad of Green Bay.

Brohm said, I thought that I handled myself out there fine. The outcome wasn’t that good, but I still played with confidence.

Fewell said that he thought that Brohm had handled himself ok, especially since he had only been with the team a month.

Fewell said, he got put into a very tough position. He tried answering the challenge. I do do think with some more work and more works he has a future. He shows promise.

From the outset, the defense of Atlanta applied pressure to Brohm and the rest of the Bills. On the first play for Buffalo, Fred Jackson lost two yards after being tackled by Jonathan Babineaux. Then he sacked Brohm on third down for an 8 yard loss. That forced the first of Buffalo’s seven punts.

The punt of Brian Moorman was returned 18 yards by Eric Weems down to the 42 yard line of Buffalo. White beat Reggie Corner, Bills cornerback, on first down and scored a touchdown of 42 yards.

White who caught 8 pases for a total of 139 yards and scored two touchdowns said, I just wanted to get out there to make a play to help our team get going early. Matt threw the ball well. All I had to do was go up and get it.

Corner was filling in for the injured Terrence McGee. This week McGee was put on injured reserve due to an injured rotator cuff. Jarius Byrd, defensive back, was also put on injured reserve by the Bills this week. Bryan Scott, starting linebacker, did not play due to a head injury.

Buffalo’s depleted defense was unable to follow their plan to protect Brohm.

Paul Posluszny, linebacker said, we wanted the game to be on our shoulders instead of his. We weren’t able to do that. They were able to jump on us right away. We were kind of shocked. It was still early though. We anticipated that we would get back into the game.

The defense of Atlanta was able to shut the Bills running game down. Jackson had 39 yards rushing in 13 carries.

Atlanta had a 24-0 lead when late third quarter Rian Lindell finally kicked a field goal of 42 yards to score the only points for Buffalo.

Owens caught four passes for a total of 39 yards receiving. He came into the game only needing two catches in order to get to 1,000.

Brent Grimes and Christopher Owens had interceptions for the Falcons.

Tony Gonzalez of Atlanta started the day just six catches away from 1,000, but had to leave after injuring his right calf. Before leaving he caught two passes for a total of 17 yards.

Atlanta lost Michael Koenen, punter, during the third quarter with a head injury, while Matt Bryant, kicker, was limited due to an injured hamstring. Kroy Biermann, defensive end, kicked off twice during the third quarter to fill in for Bryant.

The Falcons playoff hopes were already dashed, and the top ranked defense of the Jets were manhandling them.

Game over, right? Well, not quite.

With just 1:38 left to play Matt Ryan connected on a touchdown pass of 6 yards with Tony Gonzalez to give Atlanta a 10-7 win over New York on Sunday that seriously damaged the post season chances of the Jets.

Gonzalez said, as men who love what we are doing and take pride in our work, we owe it to ourselves as well as the organization and fans to go out and play our butts off. That is exactly what we did.

Only a day after Atlanta (7-7) got eliminated from the playoffs with the Cowboys victory over the Saints, the Falcons played spoiler versus the Jets (7-7).

Jerricho Cotchery said, unfortunately today lots of bad things happened.

Coming back after missing two games due to an injured toe, Matt Ryan started at quarterback for the Falcons but wasn’t able to do too much versus the defense of the Jets for a majority of the game. However, the Jets offense sputtered as well at the windy and cold Meadowlands, and New York failed at putting the game away. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez had three interceptions, while kicker Jay Feely missed one of his field goals and another one got blocked. On another attempted field goal the snap was mishandled by Kellen Clemens. The Jets also had some penalties that were costly.

Sanchez said, this is very tough to swallow. Playing that poorly is never good. In spurts we did play well, but then we would turn over the ball.

What made the game even more frustrating was that things appeared to be starting to fall into place for the Jets and Rex Ryan. Their winning streak of three games was snapped. Miami and Jacksonville, the two teams that the Jets are trying to catch in the AFC, lost their games. A Jets win would have put them in a great position going into next Sunday’s game versus the undefeated Colts. New York instead is left wondering what if?

Jim Leonhard, Jets safety said, there was nothing for them to play for except to spoil our season. They were able to come out and they outplayed and out executed us.

With Atlanta facing third down and 9 at their 42 yard line, Roddy White caught a pass of 16 yards. The Falcons moved an additional 15 yards on a Donald Strickland face mask penalty. The play was followed up by a run of 20 yards by Jason Snelling right up the middle down to the 7 yard line. After a run of one yard by Snelling, Ryan threw an incomplete pass intended for White inside the end zone. He then threw another incomplete pass intended for Gonzalez which Darrelle Revis nearly intercepted.

With the game in the balance, Ryan connected with Gonzalez inside the end zone to score the go ahead touchdown.

Gonzalez said, during the final drive they did a decent job taking me out. But on that final play, I was thinking they are going zone. Maybe I have a chance to get open.

After the score, frustrated Jets fans sitting in the upper decks threw snow left over from a major Northeast snowstorm. During the game one fan was arrested and twenty nine ejected for throwing snow.

New York allowed another score late in the game, after blowing leads twice against Miami, as well as one versus Buffalo and Jacksonville earlier in the season.

Leonhard said, if we are the number one ranked defense and as great as we think that we are, then they should not have been down there. It shouldn’t have even happened.

There was one final chance for the Jets to come back. However, Alan Faneca drew a penalty for unnecessary roughness which limited the opportunity. On third down and thirteen at the 21 yard line of the Jets, Sanchez threw his second interceptions. Brent Grimes picked off the pass to seal the victory for the Falcons.

Mike Smith, Falcons coach said, we had to scratch and fight hard to get the job done, but we did it.

The Jets had the opportunity to blow the game open, but other than the touchdown catch of 65 yards by Braylon Edwards, their offense wasn’t able to do much. Sanchez started the game after missing a game due to a right knee sprain. He played with both knees in braces and went 18 out of 32 for a total of 226 yards passing.

Ryan went 16 out of 34 for a total of 152 yards passing for Atlanta, who still has the chance to post winning records back to back for the very first time in the franchise’s 44 year history.

The Jets were able to get onto the scoreboard early in the game. The punt by Michael Koenen was tipped, giving the ball to New York on their 35 yard line. Sanchez on the very next play hit Edwards in stride to give the Jets a lead of 7-3 late first quarter.

With 6:40 remaining until halftime, the Jets had an opportunity to increase their lead. However on a field goal attempt of 19 yards, a low snap was mishandled by Clemens and Feely never got an opportunity to attempt the field goal.

Another scoring opportunity was wasted by the Jets when on another field goal attempt from 38 yards, Feely missed wide to the right with time expiring first half.

With 10:10 left to play Matt Bryant missed a field goal attempt of 48 yards for the Falcons.

With 4:27 remaining Feely missed a field goal attempt of 37 yards, which would have made the score 10-3, when Chauncey Davis blocked the kick off of the high snap.

New Orleans still has a perfect record. That’s all that really matters.

The fact that it was yet another close call doesn’t worry them.

Drew Brees passed for 296 yards and threw three touchdowns, while Jonathan Vilma had two defensive plays that were huge as the Saints were able to pull another tight win out 26-23 on Sunday over a pesky Falcons team.

Last week New Orleans (13-0) seem to be at the brink of defeat. Then Washington missed a short field goal during regulation. In overtime the Saints rallied to win the game 33-30.

They struggled this time to hold off the Falcons who were missing their offensive stars Michael Turner and Matt Ryan due to injury. The game result was doubtful until the crushing hit on fourth down by Vilma on Jason Snelling to stop him a yard short with a minute to play.

The Saints joined the Colts, who also won on Sunday, as one of the seven teams in the NFL to have a 13-0 record. The last two games however have been their closest margins in a season where they have dominated with wins in double digits.

Is there any reason to be concerned?

Vilma said, why should we be worried? We are 13-0. In the NFL you don’t get too many blowout wins.

Brees said, we refer to it as being battle tested.

Although the Saints may have been short on style points, they did set their franchise record in terms of most wins in a season. They also clinched having a bye for the first round of the playoffs as well as moving one step closer to having home field advantage during the entire NFC playoffs.

Brees said, from now on it will only get harder. No matter what, we always feel we have a chance to win the game. Whether it’s our defense, offense, special teams, we find some how to win the game.

With 4:42 left to play, Garrett Hartley kicked a field goal of 38 yards to give New Orleans the lead back after Atlanta had rallied from a two touchdown deficit to tie the score at 23 all.

The Falcons still had a few opportunities to pull an improbable victory out. Both of those chances were stopped by Vilma.

On the first one, the linebacker dropped back to cover and picked off Chris Redman’s pass up the middle that was intended to go to Roddy White. New Orleans didn’t score any points from the turnover. They did attempt the fake field goal, but it didn’t work.

Atlanta was attempting to get into range for a field goal on fourth down and 2 from the 46 yard line of the Saints. Redman threw a short pass over to Snelling, however the running back was plastered by Vilma after just a gain of one yard. Earlier during the game the Falcons had run that exact same play. Vilma was able to read the play all the way.

New Orleans defense surrendered 392 yards and only forced Atlanta to punt one time. However it didn’t prove to be costly.

Vilma said, we always want it put on our shoulders when the game is at the end.

Atlanta (6-7) lost their sixth game out of the last eight. Their chances to make the playoffs are about over. They will need to win their remaining games to avoid extending one of sports most unwanted streaks. The Falcons in their 44 year history haven’t ever had back to back winning seasons.

The Saints are chasing history. Just three more wins and they will have the perfect regular season. Only three teams have been able to do that.

Brees said, for us it does mean a lot. This kind of a year doesn’t happen too often.

It was another big game for Brees. He went 31 for 40 and had touchdown passes to Marques Colston and Reggie Bush.

It appeared that the Saints were pulling away after Brees connected with Bush for a touchdown of 21 yards, capping their first possession third quarter. It extended the Saints lead to 23-9.

Bush also scored on a pass of 6 yards, after missing two games due to a knee injury and playing only sparingly versus Washington. To get over the goal line Bush dove, sticking the ball out using his left arm.

However, the Falcons were able to close the gap. Redman connected on a touchdown pass of 50 yards with Michael Jenkins. Atlanta’s defense then forced the only Saints punt in the game. Snelling powered the ball in from the four yard line to tie the score with 12:56 left at 23.

The Saints and Brees came back. Appearing to want to run out the clock, New Orleans had their longest drive, a 63 yard, 16 play march down field. It stalled finally on the Falcons 20 yard line after Brees was called for intentional grounding.

Harley, who missed on an extra point attempt earlier, booted a field goal, his second of the game, to give the Saints the lead for good.

Chris Redman went 23 for 34 for a a total of 303 yards passing for Atlanta, but with Turner not playing didn’t get much assistance from the running game. Snelling was Atlanta’s top rusher in the game with 37 yards in 10 carries.

Tony Gonzalez, Falcons tight end said, hopefully we will be able to build on this and finish out the season strong. Who knows. Maybe we will get hot. If no one else gets hot then we might have a chance.

After three years Michael Vick finally made his way back into the end zone. Afterwards he couldn’t decide what he wanted to do in there.

A Lambeau Leap would take too much effort.

What he want to do instead is reward a fan who had cheered his returning to Atlanta. There was only one small problem. When Vick flipped the football in the direction of the stands, the ball got caught in the net that is up for extra points.

No worries. For the Eagles and Vick everything else on Sunday went right.

Vick, who was back to the city where he once ruled, made two touchdowns. He got one passing and one running. They were his first touchdowns since 2006. As the Eagles dominated the Falcons 34-7, Vick basked in all the cheers coming from the crowd at the Georgia Dome.

Vick, who had tears in his eyes in the bus ride to the stadium said, that was the loudest the Dome gets. I could hear chanting all throughout the stadium. It was sending chills all the way down my spine. The fans were letting me know I was still appreciated for what I have done.

With Atlanta, Vick made the Pro Bowl three times and was one of the NFL’s most dynamic players before the dogfighting incident and his subsequent downfall. He served time in prison and lost two seasons while in his prime. Now he is attempting to rebuild his career serving as an Eagles backup quarterback.

During the third quarter, Vick had a running touchdown of five yards. The last touchdown he scored was on October 15, 2006. Early fourth quarter, with the game well in hand, Vick had a touchdown pass of 5 yards over to Brent Celek. It was the first touchdown throw for Vick since his final season in Atlanta.

Vick said, this couldn’t happen at an any better time. I want to once again be one of this league’s top quarterbacks.

Philadelphia (8-4) was able to extend their lead over the stumbling Falcons (6-6) to two games in the wild card race in the NFC. However a majority of the attention focused on Vick and his first game playing in Atlanta since leaving in disgrace.

When he entered the game to take a few snaps during the opening possession for Philadelphia, the fans showered Vick with boos. However, by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the fans in Atlanta, many who were wearing jersey with No. 7 on them, were giving the chant “We want Vick! We want Vick!”

Donovan McNabb, starting quarterback for the Eagles said, the guy was in his element. After Vick’s touchdown pass over to Celek, McNabb gave Vick a big hug. McNabb added, I think that he was relishing this moment.

Andy Reid, Eagles coach, decided a two touchdown lead was enough, especially since Vick had a sore hand. Kevin Kolb, third string quarterback, finished the game out much to the fans’ chagrin who had been hoping the ex Atlanta player would get to play more.

It was still a day that gave Vick everything he could have hoped for and then some. On passing he was 2 for 2. He set up his touchdown pass with a competition of 43 yards over to Reggie Brown. He also had 17 yards rushing and one touchdown in four carries.

The Falcons could sure have used their former quarterback.

Atlanta had five of their offensive starters sidelined due to injuries including Matt Ryan, their starting quarterback. It was just too much for them to overcome, despite the fact that Philadelphia was also missing a few of their key players on offense. DeSean Jackson, receiver, and Brian Westbrook, running back, missed the game for the Eagles.

On the last play of the game, Atlanta score to avoid being shut out.

Jerious Norwood, Falcons running back said, you know Vick coming back to Atlanta that he would be on fire.

Prior to the game, Vick spoke with Arthur Blank, Falcons owner, along with some of his former teammates, including Roddy White, wide receiver. When it came down to game time, No. 7 led Philadelphia from the tunnel and on the coin toss served as a captain. He entered the game on the fifth as well as seventh play for Philadelphia.

Reid said, everyone rallied around him. He had some extra juice going, I’m sure.

After Vick took his first two snaps, he just watched the game until Philadelphia was faced with a third down and one from Atlanta’s 5 yard line during the third quarter opening drive. At that point the Eagles lead was only 13-0 even though they had totally dominated the game, Vick lined up for the shotgun. Then he pulled off a very familiar kind of play, reminiscent of when he played in Atlanta.

Vick sprinted to the right, then sharply cut to the left, breaking a tackle and diving into his end zone to score the touchdown. It appeared to lift a gigantic weight from his shoulders. Boos from the fans were drowned out by very loud cheers as Vick left his teammates to head for the stands.

His attempted flip of the ball into the crowd bounced off the net, landing in Leonard Weaver’s hands. The fullback turned to Vick to ask him if he wanted the ball. Vick was already headed to the bench and pointed to the stands. Weaver did manage to get the ball to one of the fans.

After his pass for a touchdown, Vick kept the ball. After the game, he stayed on the field to do interview before trotting off with his arms both raised in the air as he blew kisses to all directions.

Ryan’s stand-in Chris Redman had a bad day after leading Atlanta the week before to a win at the last second. He threw two interceptions. One was returned 83 yards by Sheldon Brown for a touchdown.

Tony Gonzalez, tight end said, it’s still not over. We still have four more games to play.

The Giants and Eli Manning were happy to just be able to celebrate a win once again. The last six weeks have been frustrating, not like anyone is counting or anything like that.

Manning said, it’s been a very long time. Our last win came 42 days ago. It did feel that long.

With 3:54 elapsed in overtime, Lawrence Tynes booted through a field goal from 36 yards, making up for a miss earlier in the game to give the Giants a 34-31 win on Sunday over Atlanta. The victory snapped the Giants’ four game losing streak and came after New York’s defense blew a lead of 14 points during the fourth quarter.

Tom Coughlin, Giants coach said, it’ just nice to get a win. For a month we’ve been really miserable around here.

Manning passed for 384 yards, his career high. He also threw three touchdowns, with two going to Kevin Boss. The Giants were able to keep up with Dallas, who leads the NFC East. The Cowboys defeated the Redskins to maintain their one game lead in the division.

However, New York won’t be able to savor their win for long. On Thanksgiving they play in Denver.

Manning said, there isn’t a better feeling than being in the locker room following a win. It’s great seeing the smiles and high fives, especially after you haven’t felt that in a while.

It was the first game passing for 300 yards in Giants Stadium for Manning. He was able to set up the winning field goal by Tynes when he connected on a pass of 29 yards with Mario Manningham to take New York down to the 23 yard line. The Giants hadn’t won a game since October 11 when they defeated the Raiders 44-7. However, this win didn’t come easily.

New York’s defense, which was playing without Antonio Pierce, injured linebacker, wasn’t able to hold their 31-17 lead versus the Falcons and Matt Ryan.

Coughlin, referring to his defense said, I’m concerned.

The Giants lost Brandon Jacobs, running back, as well late third quarter due to a right leg injury. There were no updates from Coughlin regarding Jacobs injury, but he was on the Giants sideline at the end of regulation and during overtime.

With 6:01 remaining in regulation, Ryan throw a scoring pass of 4 yards to Eric Weems. Then with only 28 seconds left he connected on an 11 yard pass with Tony Gonzalez to tie the game.

Ryan said, it is very disappointing. We didn’t get the outcome that we wanted. There were great efforts and great contributions from many of the guys during the second half. We were down 14 points and were able to come back. However with all that said, there’s no such thing as a moral victory.

After going 4-1 to start the season, the Falcons (5-5) have now lost four games out of their last five.

Mike Smith, Atlanta coach said, I told the team that our last six weeks have been a very long road. Four of our last six games have been played against teams coming off of their byes.

Ryan went 26 for 46 for a total of 268 yards and also threw two touchdown passes. Gonzalez caught 8 passes for a total of 82 yards and also scored. Jason Snelling who was filling in for Michael Turner who was injured, had two running touchdowns.

The victory gave the Giants the first home win in the series with the Falcons since 1979 when New York defeated Atlanta. Twelve series games in a row had been won by the visiting team. Atlanta had a decent chance of making that 13 consecutive games.

Ryan said, it was a very disappointing loss. However we can’t get discouraged.

With 12:08 left to play, Madison Hedgecock scored on a touchdown catch of 3 yards to make the score 31-17. However Atlanta was able to storm right back.

On a drive of 12 plays Ryan was able to convert three third downs, capped by a touchdown catch by Weems.

Once again the Giants had problems on the tying drive for the Falcons, allowing Ryan to convert on third down twice with passes. After throwing an incomplete pass intended for Gonzalez, Ryan connected with his tight end to score the touchdown.

The overtime toss was won by the Giants after Gene Steratore, referee, fumbled on his first flip of the coin. Once again Manning went to work.

Manning said, I knew especially during the second half that we had been moving the ball well. I was feeling good and glad we were able to get the football first. It gave us a chance to get out and win the game.

A touchdown run of 7 yards by Snelling early second quarter gave the Falcon a 7-3 lead. He was filling in for Turner, who in last week’s games versus Carolina sprained his ankle. Atlanta, for the fifth game in a row, was also playing without Jerious Norwood.

New York responded with their own drive down field, assisted by a nice sideline catch of 33 yards by Manningham. However the drive stalled on the 14 yard line of the Falcons. Tynes was given the opportunity to bring the Giants to within one point, but was wide on his attempt from 31 yards.

Tynes said, I knew that would haunt us. I knew even when we were leading by 14 points that I would need to make my amends. Lucky for me, I got the chance to do that.

Coming out for the second half Atlanta had a drive of 8 plays, capped by Snelling’s one yard run for a touchdown.

Mid third quarter, a run of two yards by Jacobs put the Giants up 24-14. Jason Elam then booted a field goal of 25 yards to make it a 7 point game.

The Panthers may finally have found a way of solving the woes of Jake Delhomme: controlled chaos.

Matt Ryan and Atlanta miscues helped as well.

On Sunday Carolina unleashed their no huddle offense with the plays being called by Delhomme. The Panthers quarterback connected on two touchdowns with Steve Smith and didn’t have any turnovers during Carolina’s 28-19 win over Atlanta.

Smith, who coming into the game tripled the touchdown total for Carolina receivers said, what no huddle is is controlled chaos. The defense is running around not knowing what they are doing out there. The no huddle offense really is simple and easy.

It was the third game in a row that Delhomme was turnover free, after having 13 interceptions during the first six games. However for the Falcons (5-4) and Ryan it was a very tough day. During the second quarter Michael Turner, their star running back, went out with a sprained ankle after already having 111 yards rushing. Then Atlanta’s comeback hopes were stymied by Ryan and Jason Elam, their kicker, with key mistakes during the fourth quarter.

For most of the day Ryan threw the ball too high and was intercepted twice. He now has 12 interceptions on the season, which is one more than he had during his outstanding rookie season.

Ryan said, I’m young. I have a very long ways to go, lots of improving that I need to do and lots of things I need to learn still.

During the first half, Ryan only completed 7 out of 19 passes. Carolina (4-5) was able to build a lead by halftime of 21-10. Delhomme appeared very poised while Atlanta struggled with getting the right defenders onto the field.

Delhomme, who no longer leads the NFL in interceptions after the struggles of Jay Cutler in Chicago, connected with Smith on two touchdowns from 4 yards out. He was in the comfort zone.

Over the years a majority Delhomme’s best work has occurred during the two minute offense.

Delhomme referring to the no huddle offense said, we practice that quite a bit. In that situation I am very comfortable.

After halftime the offense for Carolina wasn’t nearly as successful. The game didn’t get sealed until Ryan was picked off by Richard Marshall to set up a touchdown run of 45 yards from Jonathan Stewart with 2:07 remaining in the game.

Earlier in the game, Elam missed a field goal from 34 yards. It would have given the Falcons the lead. Carolina was able to hold on even after losing Jordan Gross, left tackle and main cog in their offensive line, when he broke his right ankle.

Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina wide receiver who returned after a knee injury to catch six passes for 91 yards said, being 3-5 we’re at the season’s major crossroad I think. With seven games to go in the season, our chances are as good as anyones.

Carolina earned their season split with Atlanta, whose road record fell to 1-4. Tests will be conducted on the right ankle of Turner on Monday. Early second quarter Turner went over the 100 yard rushing mark. However on the end of his run of 10 yards he rolled his ankle. He ended a streak of rushing for 428 yards in under 10 quarters of play.

Turner was replaced by Jason Snelling who rushed for 61 yards in 18 carries and scored a touchdown.

Mike Smith, Atlanta coach said, we don’t have that same explosiveness that we have with Michael in there. But Jason I thought for it being his first time in there in the last few weeks did run the ball very hard.

Ryan was able to get Atlanta to within 21-19 on a fourth down and one play when he connected with Justin Peelle, tight end, on a touchdown pass of 3 yards. With 13:44 to play the Falcons attempt at a two point conversion failed after Chris Gamble was able to tackle Snelling following a swing pass.

Later Ryan was able to convert on third down and 11 from Atlanta’s 3 yard line on a pass of 13 yards to Tony Gonzalez. However the drive stalled. Then Elam, after hesitating twice, pulled a short attempt for a field goal with 6:35 remaining in the game.

Elam said, from the very start my timing was a mess. I take the blame for that.

Carolina went three downs and out. Then Eric Weeks returned the punt down to the 49 yard line of Carolina. However Atlanta’s hopes were ended when Ryan tried to throw into double coverage.

Ryan went 22 for 41 for a total of 224 yards passing and one touchdown. Atlanta failed to capitalize on the revamped defense of Carolina after Thomas Davis, linebacker, sustained a knee injury to end his season last week.

Michael Jenkins, wide receiver referring to Ryan said, technically I don’t think anything is wrong with him. We need to just execute better and limit our turnovers.

DeAngelos Williams rushed for 92 yards while Stewart ran for 82 yards, giving the Panthers a solid running attack. However the Panthers were keyed by the passing game, even after they had to shuffle the offensive line up.

Gross, who is the cog of Carolina’s line, may be out for the rest of season. The injury forced Travelle Wharton to move over to left tackle and Mackenzy Bernadeau, who has very little experience, to play at left guard in Wharton’s old spot.

Chris Redman, backup quarterback for Atlanta, threw a touchdown pass of 5 yards over to Roddy White on Sunday with just 23 seconds left to play, as the Falcons eked out a 20-17 win over Tampa Bay after their offensive stars Michael Turner and Matt Ryan left the game due to injuries.

White said, this game was one we really couldn’t afford to lose. It’s a very good thing that Chris was able to come in and do what he needed to do for us to win.

Will this last? It will depend on how long Turner and Ryan as well as Sam Baker and Harvey Dahl, offensive linemen, will be out. They all had to leave the game due to injuries. Atlanta isn’t saying how serious the injuries are.

Ryan, Atlanta’s second year quarterback, injured his right big toe on the very first series for Atlanta. In the third quarter Turner sustained another injury to his right ankle. The high ankle sprain had prevented Turner from playing in Atlanta’s previous game as well as limit his practice time.

White said, those are our franchise players.

Atlanta (6-5) has lost four of their last five games coming in. They found themselves in deep trouble when Jason Elam missed yet another field goal attempt, perhaps his last attempt with the Falcons. Tampa Bay (1-10) then drove the ball into Falcons territory.

However with 2:30 remaining Connor Barth missed a field goal attempt from 51 yards, giving Atlanta one more opportunity, but with no timeouts left. Redman was able to calmly direct a drive of 59 yards to give Atlanta a victory that they absolutely needed, especially considering in their next games they will be facing Philadelphia and an unbeaten New Orleans team.

On fourth down and goal on the 5 yard line Redman connected with White running up the middle on a slant as Derrick Roberson, Tampa Bay cornerback, swiped at the football to no avail.

Redman said, at any time I am always ready. That’s the reason I am here.

Early third quarter Corey Lynch blocked a punt to set up a touchdown pass of 8 yards from Josh Freeman to Carnell Williams to give Tampa Bay a 17-10 lead.

Their lead almost held up.

Aqib Talib, cornerback for Tampa Bay said, you have to make the last play of the game.

Redman, who became Atlanta’s starting quarterback in 2007 following the Michael Vick suspension, had only played in one game in the last two years after the arrival of Ryan.

On the Falcons’ final drive, Redman was able to complete four passes over to Tony Gonzalez for a total of 34 yards. Atlanta got a huge break when Roberson received a holding penalty on a pass that was incomplete to the opposite side of the football field.

Tampa Bay still only needed one stop to get their second win of the season after Redman had three incomplete passes in a row from the 5 yard line. Down to his final attempt, Redman found White, who was in single coverage, delivering a perfect pass for the score.

Mike Smith, Atlanta head coach said, it’s very difficult being a backup quarterback in this league. I know that Chris will always be prepared. I didn’t have any doubts that Chris could come into the game and efficiently execute.

As Falcons teammates Eric Weeks and Gonzalez mobbed White inside the end zone, Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay head coach, kneeled to the ground in disbelief.

Morris, the embattled first year coach who earlier this week took over the duties of defensive play calling after demoting Jim Bates, their former defensive coordinator. The move almost paid off immediately. Instead, Tampa Bay suffered yet another crushing loss. Their season has been full of them.

Morris said, we were at 1-9. Now this team is at 1-10. Whenever you lose it is never going forward.

Redman went 23 for 41 for a total of 243 yards passing, despite getting sacked five times. He also flipped a short pass to Jerious Norwood that ended up as a touchdown of 22 yards. The score gave Atlanta an early lead of 10-0.

Before halftime Tampa Bay fought back and tied the game. Freeman connected with Antonio Bryant deep to the left sideline. Bryant lept up to grab the ball from Tye Hill, Falcons cornerback, and then was able to roll into his end zone after realizing no one had touched him to score a touchdown of 42 yards. Late first half Barth kicked a field goal of 39 yards.

In just the fourth start of his career, Freeman was able to rebound nicely from his four turnover performance versus New Orleans the week before in the game the Bucs lost by 31 points. He went 20 for 29 for a total of 250 yards passing without any turnovers. The only big mistake he made was a fumble, but he was able to recover the ball.

On the game’s ninth snap, Ryan injured his toe on a sack by Tim Crowder and Stylez White. The Falcons taped Ryan’s toe up and added some extra padding to his shoe. Then Ryan tried to do a bit of light jogging over on the sidelines, but nothing really worked.

At halftime Ryan changed into his street clothes. He wore his special shoe while he watched the remainder of the game.

After the Falcons dropped two games in a row to Dallas and New Orleans, the team desperately needed to get a win to stay in the chase for the playoffs.

They did what they needed to do. Kind of. After they built up a lead of 21 points, the Falcons allowed the Redskins back in the game on two second half touchdowns. To stretch the lead back to 14 points, it took a Michael Turner touchdown run of 58 yards, fueled by LaRon Landry’s shoddy play. If Atlanta’s defense hadn’t stiffened, the game might have gone right down to the last minute.

The good news for the Falcons is that Turner had 166 rushing yards, bringing back memories of his 2008 performance.

However, what was really needed for the Falcons was an absolute pasting, like what they were able to do last month to the 49ers or like what head coach Mike Smith apparently tried applying to DeAngelo Hall. Atlanta needs to now handle the Panthers playing in Charlotte. The Falcons will then meet the Giants at the Meadowlands.

It could turn out in the end that none of the surprise teams from last year- the Ravens, Dolphins and Falcons- will return to the playoffs. However of the three teams, the only one that is over .500 after the first eight games is the Falcons, making them the team with the best chance of returning to the playoffs.

If they had blown the Redskins out, we would feel much better regarding their chances. Also if quarterback Matt Ryan had been able to gain over 135 passing yards.

For the Washington Redskins, their nightmare season continues without an end in sight. They probably only have one game left that they are likely to win. Even a win over the Raiders isn’t guaranteed. A final record of 2-14 is a real possibility, enough to turn any Redskins fan’s heart dark.