Turner busts Washington for 166 yards, 2 TDs

By Ken Sugiura

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The questions that surfaced with Michael Turner's sluggish start, Turner heard them just fine.

Just ask his fullback. Ovie Mughelli likened his backfield partner to a hornet's nest.

"You stir him up too much, start talking about, ‘What's wrong with the running game?,' talking about Michael Turner, saying maybe the Pro Bowl had gotten to him, that would make anybody mad," Mughelli said. "He'd start talking to me about that, and it'd get me upset. I think he's really proving it to you [media members]."

The Washington Redskins were the victims of Turner's unleashed fury Sunday. Exploding into holes and shedding tackles, Turner wrecked Washington for 166 rushing yards on just 18 carries, two of which were touchdowns of 30 and 58 yards.

After averaging 3.4 yards per carry in the Falcons' first six games, Turner has gone for 8.3 per rush in their last two. Turner said he felt like his normal self, the one who cranked out 1,699 rushing yards last year to lead the Falcons to the playoffs.

"I've been trying to do everything by the book," Turner said. "You get caught up in that, and sometimes you forget about making big plays. You've just got to ‘ball.' It's just a feeling you've got to go out there with that you're not going to go down. I feel like I've been running hard, but looking back, I had to step it up a little bit more."

The offensive line consistently pried open creases for Turner on Sunday.

"You've got to find a way to get to him, and then get him down," said Washington defensive end and Georgia product Phillip Daniels. "You can't let him get an alley. On the long touchdowns, we hardly got a hand on him."

The second was a 58-yarder that made the score 31-17 in the fourth quarter and safely put the game away. After hurdling safety LaRon Landry, Turner shook off cornerback DeAngelo Hall's arm tackle.

Said Turner of Hall's attempt, "I didn't notice," before busting out his trademark laugh.

It's the first time in Turner's six-year career that he has had back-to-back 150-yard games. No Falcon had done it since Warrick Dunn in 2003.

"I didn't know that. Make it three, then," Turner said, and laughed.

With Carolina – against which Turner has run for 100 yards in the Falcons' last two games – it's a possibility.

"He's running it really hard, and we're trying to give him the holes up front," center Todd McClure said. "It's going to be big for us down the stretch to get him going."