Maybe it was Ric Flair demanding during the week that the Falcons whip the Packers with a trademark “Wooo!”
Maybe it was former Falcons coach Jerry Glanville, an excitable guy, who urged Falcons supporters to fill the Georgia Dome with noise during Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Packers.
Maybe it was the boos, as torrential as the weekend rains that soaked Atlanta, that enveloped the Packers every time they had the ball.
There may be alternative facts why Green Bay got the metaphorical Flair Figure Four and the Glanville Grits Blitz in a 44-21 drubbing by the Falcons. But these are not alternative facts:
- The Packers didn't stand a chance, at least not in the final football game in the Dome.
- The Falcons are going to the Super Bowl, where in two weeks in Houston they play the winner of Sunday's AFC Championship game between the Patriots and Steelers.
“It was loud,” said Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who completed 27 of 45 passes for 287 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. “It was a great ending to put this stadium to rest.”
Any hope the Packers had making it to the Super Bowl for the first time since defeating Pittsburgh in 2011 was washed away on their first two drives of the day. The first two possessions of the second half didn’t help either.
Mason Crosby, who had made an NFL-postseason record 23 consecutive field goals, missed a 41-yard field goal on the Packers’ opening drive. Rodgers had been forced into an incompletion on third down after Falcons linebacker Deion Jones came up the middle unblocked on a blitz.
On Green Bay’s next drive, fullback Aaron Ripkowski was stripped of the ball near the 11-yard line by Falcons cornerback Jalen Collins, who recovered the fumble in the end zone.
“It hurt the momentum of the game,” Rodgers said. “They are hot right now and Matt (Ryan) is playing incredible. When you play a team like that, you have to start faster than that.”
The Falcons took advantage of those mistakes to jump out to a 17-0 lead that they stretched to 24-0 by halftime.
“We ran into a buzz saw,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said.
The Packers opened the second half going three and out with tight end Jared Cook dropping two passes that hit him in the hands. The possession lasted 11 seconds.
The Falcons responded with a 73-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Julio Jones, who shook off two tackles to give Atlanta a 31-0 lead.
It was like that all day for the Packers. A team that hadn’t lost since being dumped by the Redskins on Nov. 20 simply couldn’t get on track. The team suffered several injuries in the game, particularly along the offensive line, which also didn’t help.
“Frankly, we ran out of gas,” McCarthy said.
The Green Bay offense, which had scored at least 30 points in its last six games, didn’t score until Rodgers hit Davante Adams with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 9:19 remaining in the third quarter.
Rodgers said he missed some throws in the first half. He said the Falcons run a simple scheme that relies on its pass rush and drop lanes and runs it really well. The Packers gave up two sacks and seven hurries.
McCarthy said the offense also had a difficult time getting plays called because of the thunderous noise inside the Dome.
“We got into a game that you don’t want to play in this stadium,” McCarthy said. “The crowd was fantastic. It factored a little bit for us in the communication.”
But Green Bay’s defense was just as culpable as the offense. Coordinator Dom Capers’ group, which had allowed more than 30 points just once during its eight-game win streak, forced just two punts and no turnovers.
The Packers allowed 456 yards to the Falcons through the first three quarters, more than they allowed in any game during its eight-game winning streak. The last time it gave up more than 450 came in the loss to the Redskins, when it gave up 515. The Falcons finished with 493 yards. That included 392 passing, the most allowed by the Packers this season, and 101 rushing.
There were statistical signs that this might be coming. The Packers’ pass defense was 31st out of 32 teams in yards allowed per game (269.2) during the regular season. They showed why in trying to stop Atlanta’s arsenal of receivers, who helped the Falcons average 295.3 passing yards this season, third-highest in the league.
First, Mohamed Sanu opened the scoring by catching a 2-yard shovel pass from Ryan. Then it was Jones, who caught a 5-yard touchdown pass before breaking off that monster catch-and-run to open the second half.
“A game like this comes down to the little details,” Rodgers said. “When you are making little mistakes like that, it’s going to be tough to win against a really tough offense.”
