Counting Down the 5 Best Moments of Tony Gonzalez's Atlanta Falcons Career

The Atlanta Falcons acquired Tony Gonzalez from the Kansas City Chiefs prior to the 2009 regular season.

When the trade went down, the thinking amongst Falcons fans and observers seemed to be that Atlanta was a lot closer to a Super Bowl than Kansas City was, and Gonzalez needed to give himself a chance to chase a ring before it was too late.

While the move to Atlanta didn't end up leading to a Super Bowl ring for Gonzalez, the future Hall of Famer appears to have enjoyed his five seasons in Atlanta based on his decision to return for one more season with the Falcons in 2013.

With his final season in the league coming to an end on Sunday, we thought we'd take a moment to recognize Gonzalez for what he did during his time in Atlanta by counting down what we believe to be his five best moments as an Atlanta Falcon.

All stats are via NFL.com.

5. Week 15, 2009: Fourth-Down Touchdown Catch Helps Falcons Stun Jets

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Gonzalez sealed a hard-fought Atlanta victory by hauling in a six-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes left in the game against a New York Jets defense that hadn't given up much of an inch all day.

With the win, the Falcons evened their record at 7-7 and kept their dreams of ending the team's ridiculous streak of never having back-to-back winning seasons alive.

This was Atlanta's only road win against an opponent that finished with a winning record in 2009.

4. Week 1, 2012: 7-Yard Touchdown Catch at Arrowhead Against Chiefs

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Gonzalez made his only trip to Arrowhead Stadium as a visitor when Atlanta opened its 2012 season on the road against the Chiefs.

The Falcons broke open a close game late in the third quarter when Matt Ryan found Gonzalez for a seven-yard touchdown pass to put Atlanta up 34-17.

After he made the catch, Gonzalez drew a mixed reaction from the Kansas City crowd when he celebrated the score by executing one of his trademark dunks through the goal post.

3. Week 15, 2013: Passes 15,000 Career Receiving Yards vs. Redskins

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Gonzalez's final season hasn't gone the way he planned in the win column, but he's still had his share of highlights this season.

His best moment this season may have come in the third quarter of Atlanta's Week 15 game against the Washington Redskins when Gonzalez caught a 12-yard pass and became just the fifth player in NFL history to gain 15,000 career receiving yards.

Gonzalez has remained consistent throughout Atlanta's struggles this season.

2. Week 2, 2011: One-Handed Touchdown Catch in Prime Time vs. Eagles

Gonzalez recently told The MMQB's Peter King that this Week 2 touchdown catch against the Philadelphia Eagles from 2011 may have been the best catch he made during his playing career.

I could tell you more about how important this play was for Atlanta's momentum in a back-and-forth contest against a high-powered Eagles offense, but this clip truly speaks for itself.

In the future, this is probably going to end up being one of those catches that you'll describe to NFL fans who never enjoyed the privilege of watching Gonzalez play.

1. 2013 NFC Divisional Playoffs: 19-Yard Catch Sets Up Game-Winning Field Goal

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Regardless of all he'd accomplished in his career, the "he hasn't won a playoff game" narrative seemed to follow Gonzalez even more so than Ryan and Mike Smith.

Gonzalez looked like he was headed to another heartbreaking playoff defeat last January when the Falcons blew a 27-7 fourth-quarter lead over the Seahawks, but he quickly became one of Atlanta's heroes when the Falcons got the ball back down 28-27 to Seattle with less than a minute to go.

With his team facing a 1st-and-10 from midfield, Gonzalez wiggled free in the middle of the Seahawks defense and caught the 19-yard pass that set up Falcons kicker Matt Bryant's game-winning field goal moments later.

The fact that Gonzalez played a key role in Atlanta's only playoff victory after all that he'd been through in the postseason was poetic justice.