Falcons defense zaps the Chargers’ offense

San Diego — John Abraham wanted the sack. But settled for the safety.

The two-point play, the Falcons’ first in almost three years, was one of several key defensive plays that contributed to Atlanta’s 22-16 win over San Diego Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.

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Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Falcons defensive end John Abraham ties up Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers in the end zone. Feeling the pressure, Rivers fired off a pass and was whistled for intentional grounding for a safety.

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The defense, which entered the contest as the 24th ranked unit in the NFL, sacked quarterback Philip Rivers three times and limited running back LaDainian Tomlinson to a season-low 24 rushing yards.

“It all goes back to how we practiced during the week,” defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux said. “We keyed in on what they want to do in the run game. We came in and stopped the run and made them pass. Once they started passing we got after them.”

Babineaux sacked Rivers twice (officially 1.5 sacks) and also deflected a pass on a fourth-and-3 at the Atlanta 34-yard line on San Diego’s opening drive.

The safety came midway through the second quarter with Atlanta leading 13-7. On third down from his own 5, Rivers took the snap from shotgun and dropped back to pass from the end zone. Abraham bull rushed Pro Bowl tackle Marcus McNeill straight back into Rivers and got an arm on the quarterback. Rivers threw the ball into open space and was flagged for intentional grounding — an automatic safety when it occurs in the end zone. It was Atlanta’s first safety since Dec. 12, 2005, against New Orleans.

“I was thinking they were going to chip block me,” said Abraham, who was also credited with half a sack. “So I figured the bull [rush] would be the best thing. I wanted the sack. But it’s all good.”

The defense didn’t much help from the offense or special teams. San Diego’s only offensive touchdown came in the first quarter when Harry Douglas muffed a punt at the Atlanta 20. Four plays later, Tomlinson walked in from 3 yards out.

The other Charger points came off a field goal and defensive touchdown. Eric Weddle returned a fumble 86 yards for a touchdown, and San Diego opted to go for two-points to tie the score at 15 in the third quarter. But corner back Chris Houston denied Malcom Floyd on a jump ball, keeping the score 15-13 — another solid play from the secondary that limited Rivers, the league’s top-rated passer, to just 149 yards.

“They have some big guys [at receiver] but they don’t like to get pressed too much, so we tried to be physical with them,” Houston said. “We tried to keep them in front of us and manage the game and not give them anything big.”

The talk all week had been Tomlinson versus running back Michael Turner — a former Charger who studied under Tomlinson for four seasons. The defense took the trumped-up rivalry to heart.

“I told the offensive line and the defensive line at the beginning of this game it’s [No.] 33 [Turner] vs. [No.] 21 [Tomlinson],” Abraham said. “The O-line has to get holes for 33 and the D-Line had better stop 21. You have to see it that way. If we hold 21 down and let 33 run, we’re going to win the game.”