DEL.ICIO.USFalcons fall to Broncos at home
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The stage was set for another magical finish at the Georgia Dome.
Quarterback Matt Ryan’s fourth-quarter dagger intended for the Denver Broncos’ heart, went in and out of the outstretched arms of wide receiver Roddy White in the end zone.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons’ running back Michael Turner drives into the end zone for one of his two touchdowns.
“I just dropped it,” White said.
The key drop allowed Denver to hold on for a 24-20 victory on Sunday before the announced sellout crowd of 54,644 fans.
White has made big plays all season long and registered another 100-yard receiving game against the Broncos. But with the Falcons needing a big catch to pull out the game, White was tough on himself.
Denver took the lead on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Graham with 5:35 left in the game. The Falcons picked up three first downs on its final drive and converted on a third-and-7. Ryan connected with Brian Finneran for a 13-yard gain.
On third-and-18 from Denver’s 45-yard line, White got open and made his way to the right corner of the end zone. Ryan’s pass wasn’t perfect, but White got to it.
Receivers live by the creed that if they touch the ball, they are supposed to catch it.
“I felt it hit my hands,” White said. “I was trying to reach for it again, but by that time it had already gotten away from me.”
White finished with five catches for 102 yards and had a long catch of 37 yards.
It wasn’t a routine catch, but White felt he still should have made it. The touchdown would have put the Falcons ahead 27-24 with 1:16 left.
“Yeah, I feel responsible for this one,” White said. “I’m a leader on this team and you know, when they expect me to go out there and makes plays for us to win, when we have a chance to win, I have to go out there and make those. It’s a tough one. We should be celebrating right now.”
White appeared to have his feet down in bounds. All he needed was the ball.
“Every time that you’re in that position, you know the sidelines are there,” White said. “You know you have to get the ball in and get your feet in. I just kind of dropped it basically.”
The defeat dropped the Falcons to 6-4 and was their first loss at home. Denver improved to 6-4.
“It’s a tough loss for us, especially for us at home,” White said. “We have to bounce back next week. We have to let this one go.”
White didn’t have to shoulder all of the blame for the loss.
The Falcons held a 13-7 halftime lead behind two field goals from kicker Jason Elam and a 9-yard touchdown by running back Michael Turner.
Denver scored on the opening drive of the second half. Peyton Hillis’ 2-yard touchdown run made it 14-13.
On the Falcons ensuing drive, Ryan threw an interception while under duress on a third-down blitz. The Falcons had converted a 37-yard Ryan-to-White pass play earlier on similar blitz, but Denver cornerback Dre Bly was ready the second time.
“But (Bly) kind of ran over there and Matt threw the ball,” White said. “Good job by the defense.”
The Broncos converted the turnover into a 20-yard Matt Prater field goal to take a 17-13 lead.
“It was a cover zero,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We didn’t make a good decision there. We’d like to have that one back if we could.”
The Falcons battled back and Turner scored on a 28-yard touchdown run to make it 20-17 with under 11 minutes to play.
The Falcons defense was off balance for most of the day. They were expecting long passes, but Denver threw underneath. They weren’t expecting Denver to run, but they ran the ball effectively.
Even though the Broncos were staying two steps ahead of the defense, the unit still had a chance to stop the drive and protect the three-point lead.
They stopped Denver running back P.J. Pope for three yards on first down and quarterback Jay Cutler threw an incomplete pass on second down.
On third-and-7 from Denver’s 20, the Dome came alive with chants of “Defense, Defense.”
With the Falcons looking for underneath routes, Cutler tossed a strike deep down the field for Brandon Marshall for a 47-yard gain. Cornerback Chris Houston was in coverage.
“He’s a real big receiver and he’s athletic,” Houston said. “He came down with the ball.”
Seven plays later, Cutler threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Graham for the winning margin.
The Falcons had their final shot, but White’s drop and a holding call on Tyson Clabo hurt their chances.
“That last drive was a big drive for us,” running back Jerious Norwood said. “You’ve got to take the good with the bad and keep rolling.”
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