Falcons eliminated by Packers

The Falcons, winners of the NFC South title, earned the right to have a bye and had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

But the Packers, behind the pinpoint passing of Aaron Rodgers and his fleet of receivers, were just too much for Falcons' young and inexperienced defense.

Simply put, the Falcons got into a shootout with the Packers and couldn't keep up.

Using their passing game and two interceptions by cornerback Tramon Williams, the Packers built a 28-14 lead at halftime.

Rodgers, who was snubbed for the Pro Bowl in favor of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, completed 31 of 36 passes (86.1 percent) for 366 yards and three touchdowns against the Falcons' depleted secondary.

The knife in the side of the Falcons' neck came on the last play of the first half. The Falcons were trying to get back in field-goal range on a short pass, but Williams intercepted the pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown.

The Falcons got off to a good start.

They picked up two first downs before punting on their opening possession.

On the Packers' first possession, the Falcons had them backed up, but on third-and-13 from their 8-yard line, Rodgers hit Greg Jennings on a slant route.

Jennings was sprinting after catching the pass when linebacker Stephen Nicholas swooped in and knocked the ball loose. Cornerback Brent Grimes scooped up the fumble and returned it to Green Bay's 48.

After a 4-yard run by Michael Turner, Ryan and wide receiver Michael Jenkins hooked up on a 22-yard pass play to move to the Packers' 22.

After 1-yard run by Jason Snelling, Ryan was sacked by Clay Matthews for a loss of 4 yards.

On third-and-13 from the 25, Ryan connected with Roddy White for 12 yards. The Falcons, who led the NFL in fourth-down conversions, went for it. Fullback Ovie Mughelli slanted behind left guard Justin Blalock to pick up the first down.

On the next play, Turner scored on a powerful, twisting and turning 12-yard run to make the score 7-0.

Green Bay answered with a 13-play, 81-yard touchdown drive. Rogers tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson.

Pro Bowler Eric Weems returned the ensuing kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown to put the Falcons back up 14-7.

With nickel back Brian Williams inactive, Rodgers appeared to target his replacement Christopher Owens, who struggled in coverage.

The Packers put together a 10-play, 92-yard touchdown drive. Fullback John Kuhn scored from 1-yard out to tie the game with 6:06 left in the second quarter.

The Falcons had a promising drive going, before Ryan attempted to hit Jenkins in the end zone. Jenkins was open, but had to wait for the ball and slipped. The pass was intercepted by Williams in the end zone.

The Packers had the ball on their 20 with 2:22 to play in the first half. The zipped down the field in seven plays, scoring on a 20-yard pass to James Jones for a 21-14 lead.

The NFL went to its current seeding system in 1990. The Falcons joined the 2008 New York Giants and the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles as the only No. 1 seeds since to lose in the divisional round.

Most national pundits had predicted a Packers' victory, but no one could have envisioned the Falcons suffering their worst playoff loss in history. The previous lows were three 17-point losses: to Washington 24-7 in the 1991 playoffs, to Green Bay 37-20 in the 1995 playoffs and to Philadelphia 27-10 in the 2004 NFC championship game.