Falcons' Roddy White has record day by the Bay

By ERIC GILMORE

For the AJC

SAN FRANCISCO – The Roddy White watch came to an explosive end Sunday against the 49ers at Candlestick Park.

After a slow start this season, White put on a record-breaking show, recapturing his big-play, Pro Bowl form of 2008.

White caught eight passes for a franchise-record 210 yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yarder, a career-long catch. He broke Terance Mathis’ team record of 198 receiving yards, set on Dec. 13, 1998, against New Orleans.

“I just wanted to go out there and play well,” White said after the Falcons’ 45-10 win. “I felt like I hadn’t been playing well up to this point of the season.

“Me and coach [Mike] Smith had a talk. He was like, ‘You’ve got to get back to being yourself again. You’ve got to go back out there and be the old Roddy. No pressure.’ After we had that talk, I kind of came to practice with a new mentality. Kind of got back to just doing what I do.”

And what White did is make big plays. By the end of the first half, he already had six catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns, breaking his career high of 164 set against the Saints on Dec. 7 last season.

“I have so much confidence in him that he’s going to go out there and make plays,” Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. “He’s such a talented receiver, physically. He works hard during the week.

“Extremely impressive to get 210 yards receiving. That’s a big number. So hats off to him today. Roddy did a great job. I’m very happy for him.”

White came into the game averaging just 7.9 yards per catch, down from a gaudy 15.7 last year and a 15.4 career mark. All eight of his catches Sunday went for double-digit gains, including his 90- and 31-yard touchdown grabs. He averaged 26.3 yards per catch.

“I just wanted to get back out there and get some explosive plays going for our offense and just make our drives a little easier,” White said.

White put the Falcons ahead 14-0 in the first quarter with his 31-yard touchdown catch. He lined up left and cut all the way across the field through the 49ers’ zone coverage, breaking wide open in the end zone where Ryan hit him.

Early in the second quarter, White scored on a 90-yard catch and run. He lined up left and ran a quick out against 49ers cornerback Nate Clements’ tight man-to-man coverage. Ryan saw the blitz and zipped a quick pass to White.

Clements reached with his left hand, trying to knock the ball down, but whiffed. White spun away and found nothing but open field between him and the end zone.

“Matt threw it at a good spot,” White said. “He tried to reach up for it, and I kind of snagged it and just broke the tackle and got on my horse and started running.”