Five Plays That Led to the Atlanta Falcons' Improbable 2008 Season

It takes a collective, season-long effort to go from 3-13 to 11-5 in just one year, but without these five specific plays, the 2008 Atlanta Falcons would not have been able to do the impossible.

1) Week One vs. Detroit Lions: Matt Ryan 62-yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins

Highly-touted rookies rarely live up to the hype; at least not in their first seasons in the NFL. Almost never do they live up to it on their very first pass as a professional. Matt Ryan, however, did just that.

In their season opener inside the Georgia Dome on September 7, 2008, the new-look Atlanta Falcons hosted the Detroit Lions. Searching for some immediate hope following a 3-13 2007 campaign that was nothing short of disastrous, Falcon fans turned to Ryan, their prized rookie.

If they simply could not wait to see Ryan get his hands on the pigskin, they were not disappointed when Atlanta won the coin toss and wanted the football. After two rushes by their other heralded newcomer, running back Michael Turner, the Falcons had a first down on their own 38-yard line.

Atlanta came out in a pro set (far), while the Lions lined up in their 3-4 defense. The stage was set.

Ryan, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, dropped back to pass for the first time as an Atlanta Falcon as receiver Michael Jenkins burned the Detroit corner who had tried in vain to jam him at the line of scrimmage. Ryan’s bullet of a pass did not give Detroit’s strong safety enough time to help on Jenkins.

Jenkins hauled in the pass and saw a whole lot of nothing in between him and the endzone. Welcome to the NFL, Matt Ryan! That’s an easy 62-yard scoring strike for ya!

Less than two minutes into the first game of the season, Atlanta led the Detroit 7-0 and Ryan was on his way to instant stardom.

Little did we know at the time, but the amazing play was a sign of things to come for both teams.

The Falcons, who led Detroit 21-0 by the end of the first quarter, cruised to a 34-21 victory and went on to qualify for the playoffs with an 11-5 record. The Lions, of course, never won a single game the entire year, becoming the first team in NFL history to go 0-16.

2) Week 6 vs. Chicago Bears: Ryan 26-yard pass to Jenkins

Although the season was just five weeks old, both the Falcons and Chicago Bears must have already been thinking about the playoffs with their identical 3-2 records. And there was a playoff atmosphere inside then Georgia Dome when the Bears paid a visit to Atlanta on October 12.

Down 19-13 late in the fourth quarter, Bears’ quarterback Kyle Orton found Rashied Davis for a 17-yard touchdown pass with a mere 11 seconds remaining. The extra point gave Chicago a 21-20 lead and—seemingly—the crucial victory.

An ill-advised squib kick, however, resulted in Atlanta seizing solid field position at its own 44-yard line. But the Falcons had just six seconds with which to work.

Apparently for the Falcons, six seconds is enough.

Atlanta came out in a shotgun 23, while the Bears—predictably—were in a prevent defense with four linemen rushing the quarterback and seven defensive backs.

With no timeouts left, the Falcons either had to score a touchdown or get out of bounds in less than six seconds in order to set up a field goal. Inexplicably, Chicago took away the deep ball, but not the sideline.

Jenkins found an opening 26 yards down the left side of the field, snatched a flawless Matt Ryan pass out of the air, and fell out of bounds at the Chicago 30-yard line. One second remained.

As incredible as the play is, it becomes irrelevant if kicker Jason Elam misses the ensuing field goal. It becomes an afterthought. It becomes useless.

Jason Elam, however, does not miss. He boots a 48-yard field goal through the uprights, positively stunning the Bears, giving the Falcons a 22-20 win, and propelling Atlanta to a 4-2 record.

Ryan-to-Jenkins suddenly becomes part of Falcons lore.

3) Week 16 vs. Minnesota Vikings: Justin Blalock fumble recovery in endzone

With a spot in the playoffs at stake for both teams, the 9-5 Falcons went into the Metrodome to face host Minnesota.

Up 17-7 late in the third quarter, Atlanta was driving to all but put the game away. The Falcons had second-and-goal at the Minnesota 5-yard line, searching for touchdown that would give them a 17-point lead.

In desperate need of a stop or a turnover, the Vikings came out in a goal-line defense. Atlanta overloaded the left sign of the line of scrimmage with Ryan under center and Jerious Norwood alone in the backfield. Minnesota wasn’t fooled, however, when Ryan dropped back to pass, and the rookie QB found no open receivers.

Ryan tucked the ball away and took off for the endzone, hurling himself into the air as he approached the goal line. Suddenly hit and flipped, Ryan fumbled the ball into the endzone. Several Viking players appeared to jump on it, but it was Atlanta offensive tackle Justin Blalock who came up with the football for a bizarre touchdown.

The Falcons thus took a 24-7 advantage, and it turned out that they needed those seven extra points. Minnesota mounted a late charge, but it came up short as the Falcons held on 24-17 and clinched a spot in the playoffs.

4) Week 15 vs. Tampa Bay Bucs: John Abraham sack of Brian Griese

If the Falcons and Bucs immediately circled this late-season matchup when they saw their schedules for the first time during the offseason, they circled it for good reason.

Divisional showdowns can get bigger than this, but not by much. Visiting Tampa Bay ventured into the Georgia Dome at 9-4, while the Falcons lingered close behind at 8-5. With the Carolina Panthers leading the division, however, both teams needed a win to solidify their wild-card chances and stay in the division race at the same time.

Atlanta defensive end John Abraham terrorized the Bucs all afternoon, but came up especially big when it mattered most in overtime.

Tampa Bay had seized momentum by forcing overtime with a late field goal, and energy continued to be sapped out of the Georgia Dome when the Bucs won the coin toss and got the ball first in the extra frame of play. Abraham, however, made sure to get the ball—and the momentum—right back.

With the Bucs enjoying good field position on third-and-eight from their own 37, Brian Griese lined up in the shotgun formation, hoping to complete a pass and keep the chains moving. Griese never got pass off.

Abraham was on top of the Tampa Bay signal-caller almost immediately, dropping him 13 yards back at the Bucs’ 24-yard line. Not only did it force the Bucs to punt, but it also allowed the Falcons to take over at their own 29; stellar—even if unspectacular—field position.

If the Bucs had been able to put from their 37, they would have expected to pin Atlanta inside its own 20.

Two Falcon first downs later, the home team was in range for the game-winning field goal. Two more first downs put Elam in chip-shot range, and he soon connected on the clincher from 34 yards out.

5) Week 5 vs. Green Bay Packers: Michael Boley interception of Aaron Rodgers pass

After four weeks of the 2008 season, the Falcons were a respectable 2-2. They had not, however, won a game on the road. In fact, Atlanta had been blown out 24-9 in each of its first two road games (at division rivals Tampa Bay and Carolina).

Heading into daunting Lambeau Field to face the 2-2 Green Bay Packers, Atlanta needed to make a statement that it could win away from home. Leading 20-17 with less than five minutes remaining in the game, the Falcons were in position to do it.

Green Bay, however, had possession and seemed poised to kick a game-tying field goal or score a game-winning touchdown.

Despite facing third-and-19 from their own 21, the Packers decided to go for the first down rather than play it safe, punt, and rely on their defense to get the ball back.

Green Bay came out in a shotgun trips left (three wide receivers to the left of the line of scrimmage), while Falcons countered with a quarter prevent defense (three linemen, one linebacker, and seven cornerbacks).

Even an incomplete pass would have been OK for the Packers, who then could have punted, forced the Falcons to go three-and-out, and regained decent field position with plenty of time left. Instead, the lone linebacker in the Falcons’ defensive formation came up big.

Michael Boley picked off a wayward Aaron Roders’ pass and return it 16 yards to the Green Bay 19. Three Michael Turner runs later, the Falcons had an insurmountable 27-17 advantage. Atlanta was well on its way to road win, and a road win in the Frozen Tundra.