Years of Frustration to Tears of Joy

David Goldman/Associated Press

Matt Bryant (3) after kicking a 49-yard field goal with eight seconds left to lift the Falcons over the Seahawks and into the N.F.C. championship game. Bryant had three field goals in the victory.

ATLANTA — Through more than 250 games with two teams in 16 N.F.L. seasons, Tony Gonzalez never cried tears of joy. He saw players on other teams do it, of course, watching with envy as his opponents were so overwhelmed by the emotion of a victory that they wept on their shoulder pads. But for Gonzalez, those tears never came.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez catching a 1-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter against the Seahawks' Kam Chancellor. The playoff victory was the first of Gonzalez's 16-year N.F.L. career.

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Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Matt Ryan and the Falcons did all the celebrating in the first half and then again in the closing seconds of their victory over Seattle.

Until Sunday. As Atlanta Falcons kicker Matt Bryant watched his 49-yard field goal sail between the uprights, Gonzalez fell to the ground. He rolled. He screamed. And then, finally, he cried, giving in to the frenzy of the moment as the Falcons beat the Seattle Seahawks, 30-28, to complete a frantic last-minute rally that came, amazingly, after they had blown a 20-point lead.

After enduring seasons of regular-season success doused by January disappointment, it was the first playoff victory for Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan (who had been 0-3), the first for Coach Mike Smith (0-4) and, most especially to many in the Falcons’ locker room, the first for the veteran tight end Gonzalez (0-5), who is considering retiring after this season.

Not surprisingly, Gonzalez was hardly the only one stunned in the dressing room afterward, as many of the Atlanta players acknowledged being dazed by what they had just experienced. Playing as the No. 1 seed in the N.F.C., the Falcons came out fast, taking a 20-0 halftime lead. Then they were bulldozed through much of the third and fourth quarters, giving up 21 points in the final period and falling behind, 28-27, when Marshawn Lynch powered into the end zone from 2 yards out with about 30 seconds remaining.

At that point, many observers thought it was over, and even some Falcons players conceded they were unsure they would be able to recover from that type of stomach punch. Center Todd McClure said it was difficult not to think that “all that hard work is going down the drain.”

But with some Falcons fans heading for the Georgia Dome exits, Jacquizz Rodgers returned the Seahawks’ kickoff to the Atlanta 28, and with 25 seconds on the clock, Ryan went to work.

“We always talk about, in those types of situations, let’s make that first play and get going,” he said. And the Falcons did. Ryan found Harry Douglas for 22 yards to midfield. The play took only six seconds.

On the next play, Ryan, who recorded 250 passing yards and threw 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, dropped back again. Facing a hard Seattle blitz, he stood in the pocket and hit Gonzalez for 19 yards to the Seattle 31 as the Seahawks’ sideline slumped. Smith then took his last timeout and sent out Bryant, who first waited through a Seattle timeout intended to unnerve him, then coolly blasted his kick through to save the Falcons from another postseason disaster. Atlanta will host San Francisco in the N.F.C. championship game Sunday.

“This is something that’s been a long time coming,” said Gonzalez, who finished with 6 catches for 51 yards and a touchdown. He added, “A long, long time coming.”

Bryant’s kick also spoiled a sensational effort from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who seemed poised to supplant San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick as the brightest young star of the postseason. Wilson led the Seahawks back from a 14-0 deficit last week against Washington and sparkled again, completing 24 of 36 passes for 385 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for 60 yards and a score.

In truth, that the game was even close in the fourth quarter was remarkable, as the Falcons were dominant early on. Their explosive offense showed all its tricks, with Ryan frequently trying long passes downfield — his best was a 47-yard touchdown toss to Roddy White in the second quarter — while running backs Michael Turner and Rodgers mixed hard running through the line with explosive bursts in the open field.

“I like the way we started the game,” said Smith, who saw his team blown out by Green Bay two years ago when the Falcons also were the No. 1 seed. “They never quit, and we had one hell of a game.”

The Seahawks, meanwhile, could not get out of their own way at the start. Lynch, who lost fumbles only twice during the regular season, coughed up the ball for the second time in two playoff games after an early 11-yard run, allowing the Falcons to capitalize when Ryan found Gonzalez for a touchdown that made the score 10-0. Then, late in the second quarter, Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll made two decisions that will surely be hot topics for a long time in the Pacific Northwest, and, in both cases, left Seattle without precious points.

First, Carroll opted to forgo a short field-goal attempt on fourth-and-1 from the Atlanta 11 with a little under six minutes remaining in the first half, keeping his offense on the field but curiously putting the ball in the hands of fullback Michael Robinson — not Lynch or Wilson — on a short-yardage carry. Robinson was stuffed, and the Falcons turned the decision into a touchdown that gave them a 20-0 lead.

On the Seahawks’ ensuing possession, Seattle again moved the ball deep into Atlanta territory, but Carroll spent his final timeout of the half after the Seahawks got a first down at the Falcons’ 6 with 25 seconds remaining.

That left Carroll with no recourse when Wilson was subsequently sacked on third down — Jonathan Babineaux streaked into the backfield — and the Seahawks failed to get off another play before time expired.

“There’s five different opportunities to score points in the first half,” Carroll said, “that would have been the difference in the game.”

As it turned out, those 6 points lost certainly would have been valuable. The Seahawks surged in the second half, scoring on their first three possessions — including one that came after Ryan threw a brutal interception into double coverage — and slashed through a Falcons defense that spent much of the game without its top pass rusher, the injured John Abraham.

Still, Atlanta steadied itself just in time.

It was thrilling. It was sublime. It was enough to bring a 6-foot-5, 250-pound man to tears.

“It was crazy,” Gonzalez said. “But I’ll do it again next week if I have to.” 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com