RISE UP: Falcons to face Patriots in Super Bowl LI in Houston

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 22: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates after defeating the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome on January 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons defeated the Packers 44-21. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

Credit: Kevin C. Cox

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 22: Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons celebrates after defeating the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome on January 22, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Falcons defeated the Packers 44-21. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Falcons are headed to Houston for Super Bowl LI.

The Falcons defeated the Green Bay Packers 44-21 for the NFC championship Sunday afternoon.

Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 392 yards and four touchdowns in another MVP-worthy showing, while Jones shook off a toe injury to haul in nine catches for 180 yards and two scores, leading the Falcons to a 44-21 blowout of the storied Green Bay Packers in the title game Sunday.

"We played great," Ryan said. "We did exactly what we've been doing all year and it feels really good."

Atlanta's defense, an afterthought compared to the other side of the line, kept the Packers out of the end zone until the game was essentially locked up.

Rodgers finished 27 of 45 for 287 yards and three TDs, but he also threw an interception, was sacked twice and faced a relentless Falcons rush.

The Falcons finished with a 493-367 edge in total yards.

We will have complete coverage of the Atlanta Falcons as they prepare for Super Bowl LI on Channel 2 Action News.

The Falcons scored their first touchdown on their opening drive and kept the momentum going all game long.

"We'll be ready to go for sure," Ryan said. "I'm just proud of the way that we competed and just really excited for two weeks from now."

During his post-game news conference, head coach Dan Quinn thanked Arthur Blank, the players and the fans. Quinn will be coaching his third Super Bowl in the past four seasons. He went twice, in 2013 and 2014, as defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, before becoming the Falcons head coach in 2015.

Atlanta will take on the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium on Feb. 5. The Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night in the AFC Championship Game.

This is the Falcons first trip to the Super Bowl since the 1998 season.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

4th quarter: 

6:43 left: Aaron Rodgers throws touchdown pass to Cook. Two point conversion is no good. Falcons lead 44-21

12:07 left: Atlanta's Tevin Coleman scores his first Touchdown of the game on a three yard run. Falcons now leading 44-15.

3rd quarter:

:38 left: Packers score on pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson. Two point conversion is good. Falcons now leading 37-15.

4:11 left: Matt Ryan's touchdown pass to Devonta Freeman adds 6 more points to the Falcons lead. The call on the field that left the ball inches from the goal line was overturned on a Falcons challenge. Missed extra point puts Falcons up by 30 points, leading Green Bay 37-7.

9:19 left: Packers score on 2-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers. It's their first touchdown of the day. Score now 31-7.

13:51 left: Julio Jones goes 73 yards for a touchdown. Falcons leading 31-0. Julio Jones now has 144 receiving yards. That's more than all of Green Bay, with 127 total yards. The Falcons have 400.

[PHOTOS: Falcons, Packers fans party at the NFC Championship]

2nd quarter

:03 left: Julio Jones scores touchdown on pass from Matt Ryan. Falcons lead 24-0. During the first half, the Falcons had possession for 20:02 compared to the Packers 9:58.

1:45 left: Rodgers throws an interception. Falcons ball at their 37.

3:15 left: Falcons punt for the first time. Green Bay gets the ball at their 10.

5:58 left: Packers go 3 and out for the first time. Falcons get the ball at their 21.

7:24 left: Matt Ryan scrambles, fakes then runs the ball into the end zone from 14 yards out. Falcons now lead 17-0.

10:59 left: Packers fumble inside the red zone. Atlanta's Jalen Collins forced it and then recovered it in the end zone. First and 10 for the Falcons from the 20.

1st Quarter

End of 1st Quarter: Packers have the ball. Falcons leading 10-0. In the 1st quarter, Matt Ryan went 11-16 for 125 yards. Rodgers went 4-7 for 50 yards. Falcons had 149 total offensive yards compared to the Packers 54 yards.

:14 left: Matt Bryant makes a 28-yard field goal to put the Falcons up 10-0. The field goal ended a 12-play, 59-yard drive that lasted 5:21. Bryant, who was 34-for-37 in field goal attempts in the regular season, is 3-for-3 so far in the playoffs.

5:35 left: The Packers drove the ball back down the field, but missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. Score remains 7-0.

8:24 left: Falcons score a touchdown on the opening 13-play, 80-yard drive. Quarterback Matt Ryan was 6 for 8 passing for 64 yards. On the final play, Ryan flipped the ball 3 yards to Mohamed Sanu for the touchdown. The home team was 3-for-3 on third down conversions during that drive.

PHOTOS: The last time the Falcons won the NFC Championship Game

FINAL GAME AT GEORGIA DOME

What a send-off for the Georgia Dome, the Falcons' home since 1992, which will be torn down and replaced next season by $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

With the home team comfortably ahead, the raucous crowd of more than 71,000 basically partied through the whole second half, bouncing along to rap music that turned the stadium with the big top-like roof into the world's largest dance club.

The intensity of the celebration was understandable, given the Falcons' largely forgettable history and the heartache doled out by all of Atlanta's pro sports teams. The Braves, way back in 1995, are still the city's only team to capture a big league championship.

Now, the Falcons are one win away from adding another title to that barren trophy case.

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HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Falcons advanced with a 36-20 divisional playoff win over Seattle last week. Green Bay's offense also rolled in a 34-31 win over Dallas.

The Falcons and Packers finished the regular season ranked 28th and 31st, respectively, in pass defense. The Falcons allowed 25.4 points per game to rank 27th, only a few spots below the Packers (24.2) at 21st.

The Falcons beat the Packers 33-32 in Atlanta on Oct. 30. Atlanta led the NFL with 33.8 points per game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.