ATLANTA -- His shot at redemption at hand, kicker Jason Elam left little doubt about the power in his 48-yard, game-winning field goal. The kick jetted off his 38-year-old foot and through the uprights as time expired to give the Falcons a thrilling 22-20 victory over the Chicago Bears.
The 16-year veteran's celebration was interrupted by a swarm of teammates near midfield. It was his fifth successful kick of the day but just moments before he missed a kick that could have iced the game. Chicago came off the miscue with a 77-yard touchdown drive to take a 20-19 lead with 11 seconds to play. But a 9-yard return off a short kickoff by Harry Dougals and a 26-yard strike from rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to Michael Jenkins set Elam up for the game-winner with 1 second left.
"I'm really happy that one went through," Elam said. "Our guys have been fighting so hard for so long. I hate to even mention what happened last year but to hear some of the stories I know the guys are really hungry to get some wins on the board and show our fans what we're all about."
Ryan finished the game 22-of-30 for a career-high 301 passing yards. He also had a key fourth-quarter touchdown to Roddy White, who posted his second-straight 100-yard receiving game. With the victory the Birds (4-2) match the win total from all of 2007 and go into the bye week on a winning note.
Elam set career highs in points (16) and field goals made but it's the drama leading up to the final kick -- and the play of the team's young quarterback -- that revived Falcons fans in the Dome.
“This is one of the most exciting games I have ever seen," Head Coach Mike Smith said. "I haven’t been in a game that finished quite like this. There were a lot of ebbs and flows in terms of emotions for everyone out there. Our football team stayed on task for 60 minutes. When you do that, you’re going to like the outcome the majority of the time.”
Ryan led an efficient offense that faced off against a Bears team that entered the game ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing defense. The Falcons scored on three of their first four possessions -- all field goals -- and controlled the ball for more than 19 minutes in the first half. Chicago sported trademark blitz looks throughout the game but the Falcons offensive line did not allow a sack for a second week in a row.
With time to throw Ryan thrived.
The rookie found five different receivers and performed regular Houdini-like acts to find open players down the field for third-down conversions. Fellow rookie Douglas caught five passes for 96 yards including a 47-yard strike on third down that set up a 3-yard scoring toss to White with 13:25 remaining.
Ryan opened the game 8-of-8 for 107 yards and captained nearly identical scoring drives in the first quarter, leading the team on 48- and 49-yard marches that ended with field goals.
“I think everybody is excited with the win," Ryan said. "I thought we played a very good Chicago Bears team today. They played an entire 60 minutes and we did the same thing. We just had the last punch. We were able to make a couple big plays at the end of the game with Jason Elam’s clutch kick being the biggest one. This win is a great story heading into the bye week.”
The Birds were not without early opportunities to stretch the score.
A chance at a touchdown came with 9:16 remaining in the first half after a curious turn of events near the goal line. A third-down run by Jerious Norwood came up short and ended with a fumble. Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris recovered but lost the ball before he was touched down. Jason Snelling recovered the ball for the Falcons, who got a fresh set of downs.
But the Birds didn't convert. A touchdown pass to White was taken off the board after a penalty and the offense settled for another Elam field goal and a 9-0 advantage.
The defense made up for an early lack of offensive production by delivering on the statistical slugfest promised between the two teams. Running back Matt Forte was held to 20 rushing yards in the first half and the Bears were held scoreless until late in the second quarter.
Defensive end Jamaal Anderson paced a defense that fed off the crowd's energy. He finished with four tackles (two for loss) and the first sack of his two-year career. Anderson also had two pass deflections on the Bears' first drive of the second quarter.
The Falcons offense started the second half with a no-huddle offense and added another Elam field goal to take a 12-3 lead. Chicago stuck with the running game and added a touchdown from Forte with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter.
The Falcons added a fourth-down stop at the goal line with 7:59 in the game but Gould added two more field goals in the final period. His 32-yard field goal with 4:00 remaining pulled the Bears to within a single possession. Norwood returned the next kickoff 85 yards to the Chicago 17-yard line but three plays later Elam misfired on a field goal that nearly proved a fatal mistake. The Bears would drive for the go-ahead touchdown but the Falcons didn't give up with time on the clock.
"I knew the kick was going trough. I honestly think that Jason Elam missed that first field goal to put himself in that position," Anderson said with a laugh. "So of course everyone was upset (after the Bears score), but we got the win and it’s past us. We have to look forward to the following week after the bye week.”
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-BEARS GAME:
- GAMEDAY LIVE: Complete game coverage from AF.com
- GAME RECAP: Late field goal lifts Falcons to victory
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more from the NFL.com Game Center
- GAME BLOG: Follow the action in the live game blog
- J. MIKE'S BLOG: News and more from the Managing Editor
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes from the Georgia Dome press box
- TRANSCRIPTS: Head Coach Mike Smith | Falcons | Bears
- CNN VOTE: CNN polls Falcons fans on presidential race in game
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
- PRESS CONFERENCE: Head Coach Mike Smith | Ryan | Elam
- FROM THE LOCKER ROOM: Milloy | Anderson | Jenkins | White | Abraham | Norwood
- TAILGATES: Falcon Al checks out new features at Touchdown Tailgate | Blog
