Tony Gonzalez makes it look easy sometimes, but it’s not.
The Falcons tight end caught two touchdown passes, including a highlight-worthy, one-handed grab at the back of the end zone, in Sunday night’s 35-31 victory over Philadelphia. The All-Pro also continued his climb up the charts in the NFL record books.
“That’s why he has been to all those Pro Bowls and he’s obviously a first-ballot hall of famer,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “I can’t say anything but ‘wow’ about those catches. The one-handed catch will be one you’ll see for a long time.”
The Falcons took a 14-10 halftime lead when Gonzalez snagged a four-yard pass from Ryan and dragged both feet to complete the scoring play with 44 seconds remaining. The play was reviewed by officials and ruled a catch.
“I knew I had the catch,” said Gonzalez, who finished with seven of them for 83 yards. “I didn’t know if I had the feet in because I wasn’t looking down. I’ve been around for a little while and, in that situation, you want to drag your feet, because you don’t know where you are at. Maybe you will get lucky, and I got lucky there.”
Ryan said he has come to expect those kinds of receptions from Gonzalez.
“Oddly enough, I think I’ve seen him make that catch in practice 50 to 70 times,” said Ryan, who had a career-high four touchdown passes. “Something crazy like that and he transfers it over into the game.”
Gonzalez would be called on again. He didn’t disappoint.
He caught a 17-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter that put the Falcons up 21-10. On the play, Gonzalez literally carried Eagles safety Jarrad Page on his back for the final three yards. It marked the 16th time in his career that Gonzalez has caught two or more touchdowns in a game.
Smith said his quarterback and tight end were in sync all night. However, entering their third season together, Gonzalez said there is much more to it.
“I would hope we would start clicking,” Gonzalez said. “He is trusting me and I’m trusting him to put the ball in the right spot.”
While Gonzalez was much more impressed with the victory, individual accolades will continue to come his way as his Canton-bound career continues. With his fourth-quarter catch, his sixth of the game, Gonzalez passed Terrell Owens for fifth place on the NFL’s all-time reception list. He stands at 1,081 career catches, trailing only Jerry Rice (1,549), Marvin Harrison (1,102), Cris Carter (1,101) and Tim Brown (1,094).
"I’m humbled by it," Gonzalez said. "All those players on that list, it’s incredible to be mentioned with those guys. It also makes me feel old, like I’ve been around for a long time. I’ll take it and hopefully I can get a couple more.”
There will be more. Gonzalez will move up a spot in another all-time category with his next touchdown catch. His 90 career touchdowns receptions rank 10th in NFL history, one shy of Isaac Bruce for ninth place.
