Falcons shock Bears
ATLANTA — Jason Elam stood on the sideline with head bowed, figuring he had cost the Atlanta Falcons a win.
Then, a kickoff return and a quick pass gave him a second chance.
In the blink of an eye, he went from goat to hero.
Atoning for his miss a few minutes earlier, Elam booted a 48-yard field goal on the final play to give the Atlanta Falcons a stunning 22-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
“I’ve been in some wild games,” rookie quarterback Matt Ryan said, “but I think this one trumps them all.”
How wild? In the last eight minutes, there was a goal-line stand by the Falcons, an 85-yard kickoff return by Atlanta’s Jerious Norwood, Elam’s first missed field goal in 31 attempts, a gutty drive by the Bears that culminated with Kyle Orton’s touchdown pass to Rashied Davis with 11 seconds remaining and, finally, Elam’s winning kick after Ryan hooked up with Michael Jenkins on a 26-yard completion.
Whew.
“That is one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been in,” first-year Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “There were a lot of ebbs and flows.”
The Falcons erupted in a playoff-like celebration near the middle of the field. Smith lifted Ryan in the air. Elam was swarmed by his teammates, having atoned for the miss with his fifth field goal of the game, equaling his career high. He also connected from 29, 48, 32 and 41 yards.
Six games into what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, Atlanta (4-2) already has matched its win total from a forgettable 2007 season. Suddenly, the playoffs don’t appear out of the question.
“I think this is going to do great things for our confidence and chemistry,” Elam said. “Hopefully we can do something pretty special down the stretch.”
Elam was really on the hook after hooking a 33-yard attempt wide left with 2:43 left, costing the Falcons an insurmountable nine-point lead.
The Bears took advantage, quickly driving down the field to go ahead for the first time in the game when Davis ran by Falcons cornerback Chris Houston to haul in Orton’s perfectly thrown pass in the corner of the end zone. Robbie Gould booted through the extra point that gave Chicago a 20-19 lead.
But the surprising Falcons, coming off an upset of the Packers in Green Bay, weren’t done. With many fans heading for the exits, Gould pooched the ensuing kickoff, and Harry Douglas managed a 10-yard return to the Atlanta 44.
Ryan, playing with the poise of a 10-year veteran, calmly threw a pass to Jenkins along the left sideline. The receiver made the catch in front of safety Mike Brown, got both feet down and tumbled out of bounds with one second left to set up Elam’s winning kick.