Sunday, 1 p.m., MetLife Stadium, WTTG-5

Falcons 10-6, Giants 9-7

How the Falcons can win… The Falcons are a relatively balanced team, at least by the standards of some of this year’s top playoff contenders. They ranked 10th in the league in total offense and 12th in total defense during the regular season. The Atlanta defense ranked sixth against the run, and seems likely to shut down a Giants’ running game, which struggled all year. The Falcons rediscovered RB Michael Turner when he ran for 172 yards Sunday, and QB Matt Ryan has the receivers–in WRs Roddy White and Julio Jones and TE Tony Gonzalez—to exploit the Giants’ 29th-ranked pass defense.

How the Giants can win… The Giants enter the playoffs feeling good about themselves after beating the Jets and Cowboys on the final two weekends of the regular season to win the NFC East. They get to play at MetLife Stadium again, and they’re talking about re-creating the magic of their postseason run to a Super Bowl title after the 2007 season. QB Eli Manning has been one of the league’s most dependable players all season, leading the Giants to five victories with fourth-quarter comebacks. The defense played well against the Cowboys, sacking QB Tony Romo six times. DE Jason Pierre-Paul has become the most disruptive of the Giants’ pass rushers; he had 16-1/2 sacks during the regular season.

–Mark Maske

ATLANTA (AP) —
Michael Turner
and the Falcons didn’t want to settle for just making the playoffs.

They wanted momentum and the best seed possible.

Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner,
and Atlanta cruised to a 45-24 win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed.

Julio Jones
caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds in the first quarter as the Falcons gave the Buccaneers their 10th straight
loss.

“We didn’t want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs,” Turner said.

The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses – 48-21 to Green Bay in last year’s playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last
week.

“Getting embarrassed like that last year, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We just wanted another chance.”

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with
the Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the winner of Sunday night’s Dallas-
New York Giants
game in the first round of the playoffs.

“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three
phases,” Falcons coach
Mike Smith
said.

Josh Freeman
threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their 10th straight
loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in doubt.

“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” Morris said. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow
until they tell me to stop.”

The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback
Matt Ryan
and Turner, late in the first half.

“We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s
what we needed moving forward.”

Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter.

Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season
in 34 years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11 straight between the 2008 and `09 seasons.

“This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason,”
Morris said.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions
before completing 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to
Dezmon Briscoe
with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on
Elbert Mack
‘s 40-yard interception return against Falcons’ backup
Chris Redman
in the third quarter.

Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the
Falcons’ run of six unanswered touchdowns.

The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last week’s loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith.

“The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week,” tight end
Tony Gonzalez
said.

The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might
retire after this season.

The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers.

Despite the team’s lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run.

“Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said.

Rookie
Jacquizz Rodgers
scored on a 1-yard run for his first career touchdown to start the Falcons’ scoring. Rodgers lost a fumble at the Tampa Bay
2 in the fourth quarter.

After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones,
Dominique Franks
‘ interception on Tampa Bay’s first down gave the ball back to Atlanta.

On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety
Tanard Jackson
for the catch. Jones then jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into
the end zone.

Turner had two touchdown runs and
Curtis Lofton
returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Matt Bryant
kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their 10.

Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons’ most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan
has 4,177. … Turner has 50 rushing touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs’ team record of 48.
… WR
Roddy White
also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349 yards
from 1994-2001. White finished the game with 7,374 for his career. … By playing in his 225th game with Tampa Bay, CB
Ronde Barber
passed Derrick Brooks for the team record.

© 2011 STATS LLC

ATLANTA — Michael Turner and the Falcons didn’t want to settle for just making the playoffs.

They wanted momentum and the best seed possible.

Hoping for a fast start, the Falcons set a team record with 42 first-half points, including two touchdown runs by Turner, and Atlanta cruised to a 45-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed.

Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds in the first quarter as the Falcons gave the Buccaneers their 10th straight loss.

“We didn’t want to come down to the wire, backing into the playoffs,” Turner said.

The Falcons were motivated by two blowout losses — 48-21 to Green Bay in last year’s playoffs and 45-16 at New Orleans last week.

“Getting embarrassed like that last year, that’s not who we were,” Turner said. “We just wanted another chance.”

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards. Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with the Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the New York Giants in the first round of the playoffs.

“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three phases,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said.

Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their 10th straight loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in doubt.

“If I was in the business of working out my future, I wouldn’t be coaching,” Morris said. “I’m going to go to work tomorrow until they tell me to stop.”

The Falcons led 42-0 when they began resting some starters, including quarterback Matt Ryan and Turner, late in the first half.

“We had opportunities the week before and just didn’t make the plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we made the plays and I think that’s what we needed moving forward.”

Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17 and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter.

Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season in 34 years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11 straight between the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

“This is not the season we wanted or expected, but we will need to rededicate ourselves and get ready for this offseason,” Morris said.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions before completing 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Dezmon Briscoe with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half. Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth quarter.

Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Elbert Mack’s 40-yard interception return against Falcons’ backup Chris Redman in the third quarter.

Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the Falcons’ run of six unanswered touchdowns.

The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

The strong showing was important for the Falcons. Last week’s loss at New Orleans was the worst in four seasons with Smith.

“The main thing we wanted to do was flush out of our system last week,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said.

The Falcons announced before the game Gonzalez, 35, has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation he might retire after this season.

The Falcons had the No. 1 seed in the playoffs last year before losing to the Packers.

Despite the team’s lower seed, Gonzalez said the Falcons are prepared for a longer postseason run.

“Honestly, I’ve said it all year: I think we’re a better team than we were last year,” Gonzalez said.

Rookie Jacquizz Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run for his first career touchdown to start the Falcons’ scoring. Rodgers lost a fumble at the Tampa Bay 2 in the fourth quarter.

After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones, Dominique Franks’ interception on Tampa Bay’s first down gave the ball back to Atlanta.

On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones, who fought off safety Tanard Jackson for the catch. Jones then jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into the end zone.

Turner had two touchdown runs and Curtis Lofton returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Matt Bryant kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their 10.

Notes: Ryan passed Jeff George for the Falcons’ most yards passing in a season. George threw for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan has 4,177. … Turner has 50 rushing touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs’ team record of 48. … WR Roddy White also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349 yards from 1994-2001. White finished the game with 7,374 for his career. … By playing in his 225th game with Tampa Bay, CB Ronde Barber passed Derrick Brooks for the team record.

Tampa Bay 0 7 11 6–24

Atlanta 21 21 0 3–45

First Quarter

Atl–Rodgers 1 run (Bryant kick), 8:12. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 6:48. Key Plays: Turner 26 run; Ryan 23 pass to White on 3rd-and-11; Ryan 8 pass to Gonzalez on 3rd-and-6; Turner 2 run on 3rd-and-1. Atlanta 7, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Jones 17 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:30. Drive: 7 plays, 53 yards, 2:52. Key Plays: Bennett 15-yard roughing the passer penalty; Turner 13 run. Atlanta 14, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Jones 48 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 3:04. Drive: 1 play, 48 yards, 0:12. Key Play: Franks interception at Tampa Bay 48. Atlanta 21, Tampa Bay 0.

Second Quarter

Atl–Turner 1 run (Bryant kick), 11:40. Drive: 7 plays, 30 yards, 3:34. Key Plays: Abraham fumble recovery (Freeman); Turner 14 run. Atlanta 28, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Lofton 26 interception return (Bryant kick), 10:43. Atlanta 35, Tampa Bay 0.

Atl–Turner 81 run (Bryant kick), 6:49. Drive: 2 plays, 86 yards, 0:50. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 0.

TB–Briscoe 2 pass from Freeman (Barth kick), 2:04. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 4:45. Key Plays: Freeman 48 pass to Parker; Freeman 13 pass to Winslow. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 7.

Third Quarter

TB–FG Barth 41, 4:19. Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 5:27. Key Plays: Freeman 10 pass to Blount; Freeman 11 pass to Parker; Freeman 31 pass to Williams; Freeman 10 pass to Winslow. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 10.

TB–Mack 40 interception return (Winslow pass from Freeman), 3:32. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 18.

Fourth Quarter

TB–Briscoe 5 pass from Freeman (run failed), 11:13. Drive: 10 plays, 77 yards, 5:03. Key Plays: Freeman 22 pass to Winslow; Freeman 11 pass to Blount; Freeman 9 pass to Briscoe on 3rd-and-8. Atlanta 42, Tampa Bay 24.

Atl–FG Bryant 20, 3:59. Drive: 4 plays, 8 yards, 2:10. Key Play: Gained possession on downs at Tampa Bay 10. Atlanta 45, Tampa Bay 24.

A–68,167.

TB Atl

FIRST DOWNS 18 22

Rushing 3 13

Passing 15 8

Penalty 0 1

THIRD DOWN EFF 6-12 6-11

FOURTH DOWN EFF 0-1 1-1

TOTAL NET YARDS 294 428

Total Plays 61 59

Avg Gain 4.8 7.3

NET YARDS RUSHING 35 251

Rushes 14 38

Avg per rush 2.5 6.6

NET YARDS PASSING 259 177

Sacked-Yds lost 2-15 0-0

Gross-Yds passing 274 177

Completed-Att. 31-45 13-21

Had Intercepted 3 1

Yards-Pass Play 5.5 8.4

KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB 5-4-4 8-7-5

PUNTS-Avg. 3-49.7 2-50.5

Punts blocked 0 0

FGs-PATs blocked 0-0 0-0

TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE 108 58

Punt Returns 2-15 1-9

Kickoff Returns 3-53 0-0

Interceptions 1-40 3-49

PENALTIES-Yds 2-20 3-20

FUMBLES-Lost 3-1 1-1

TIME OF POSSESSION 29:52 30:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Tampa Bay, Freeman 3-14, Blount 6-12, J.Johnson 1-5, Madu 2-4, Lumpkin 2-0. Atlanta, Turner 17-172, Snelling 9-50, Rodgers 8-24, Jones 1-9, Redman 3-(minus 4).

PASSING–Tampa Bay, Freeman 31-45-3-274. Atlanta, Ryan 6-9-0-106, Redman 7-12-1-71.

RECEIVING–Tampa Bay, Briscoe 8-53, Winslow 7-56, Lumpkin 5-27, Parker 4-74, Madu 3-19, Blount 3-14, Williams 1-31. Atlanta, Jones 4-76, White 4-69, Gonzalez 1-8, Weems 1-8, Palmer 1-7, Rodgers 1-5, Snelling 1-4.

PUNT RETURNS–Tampa Bay, Spurlock 2-15. Atlanta, Weems 1-9.

KICKOFF RETURNS–Tampa Bay, Parker 2-41, Spurlock 1-12. Atlanta, None.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS–Tampa Bay, Asante 7-1-0, Foster 4-2-0, Mack 3-2-0, Barber 3-1-0, Biggers 3-1-0, Haynesworth 3-0-0, Okam 3-0-0, Bennett 2-0-0, Bowers 2-0-0, Briscoe 2-0-0, Miller 2-0-0, A.Black 1-2-0, Q.Black 1-1-0, Freeman 1-0-0, Jackson 1-0-0, Lewis 1-0-0, Hayes 0-3-0, Jones 0-3-0, Clayborn 0-1-0, Price 0-1-0. Atlanta, Lofton 8-6-0, DeCoud 6-2-0, Owens 3-3-0, Weatherspoon 3-3-0, Franks 3-2-0, Moore 2-4-0½, Biermann 1-3-0½, Adkins 1-2-0, Babineaux 1-1-0, Abraham 1-0-1, Edwards 1-0-0, Sidbury 1-0-0, Smith 1-0-0, Dent 0-2-0, Sanders 0-2-0, Peters 0-1-0, Rodgers 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS–Tampa Bay, Mack 1-40. Atlanta, Lofton 1-26, Walls 1-23, Franks 1-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.

OFFICIALS–Referee Scott Green, Ump Bruce Stritesky, HL Tom Stabile, LJ Tom Barnes, FJ Dyrol Prioleau, SJ Larry Rose, BJ Scott Helverson, Replay Carl Madsen.

Time: 2:58.

The Atlanta Falcons grabbed the lead _ and the No. 5 seed in the
playoffs _ and wouldn’t let go.

Julio Jones caught two touchdown passes in a span of 26 seconds,
Michael Turner ran for two scores and the Falcons used a
team-record 42 first-half points to cruise to a 45-24 win over the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed in the NFC
playoffs.

The Falcons (10-6) and Detroit (10-6) are the NFC wild cards.
Atlanta, which beat Detroit on Oct. 23, won the tiebreaker with the
Lions for the more favorable seeding. The Falcons will play at the
winner of Sunday night’s Dallas-New York Giants game in the first
round of the playoffs.

“We wanted to play our final regular-season game with a lot of
intensity and energy, and I think we did that in all three phases,”
Falcons coach Mike Smith said.

Josh Freeman threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the
first half as the Buccaneers (4-12) closed their season with their
10th straight loss, leaving the status of coach Raheem Morris in
doubt.

The Falcons led 42-0 when it began resting some of its starters,
including quarterback Matt Ryan and Turner, late in the first
half.

Tampa Bay, which finished 10-6 last season and started 4-2 this
season, is left with its longest losing streak in one season in 34
years. The Buccaneers also lost 10 straight in 1977. They lost 11
straight between the 2008 and `09 seasons.

Turnovers were a problem for the Buccaneers all season. Freeman
began the day tied for the league lead with 19 interceptions before
adding three to the dismal total, including one with 1:39
remaining.

Freeman completed 31 of 45 passes for 274 yards with two
touchdowns and three interceptions.

With Atlanta leading 42-0, Freeman threw a 2-yard touchdown pass
to Dezmon Briscoe with about 2 minutes remaining in the first half.
Freeman threw a 5-yard TD pass to Briscoe in the fourth
quarter.

Tampa Bay’s other touchdown came on Elbert Mack’s 40-yard
interception return against Falcons’ backup Chris Redman in the
third quarter.

Turner ran for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an
81-yard scoring run late in the first half. The score capped the
Falcons’ run of six unanswered touchdowns.

The Falcons led 21-0 after the first quarter and then put the
game away with three more touchdowns in the second quarter.

The strong showing was important for the Falcons, who were
coming off a 45-16 loss at New Orleans that was the worst loss in
four seasons with Smith.

“We had some things we needed to get fixed from the previous
game and I’m really proud of the way the guys bounced back,” Smith
said.

Ryan was 6 of 9 for 106 yards, including touchdown passes of 17
and 48 yards to Jones in the first quarter.

Rookie Jacquizz Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run for his first
career touchdown to start the Falcons’ scoring. Rodgers lost a
fumble at the Tampa Bay 2 in the fourth quarter.

After Ryan’s first TD pass to Jones, Dominique Franks’
interception on Tampa Bay’s first down gave the ball back to
Atlanta.

On first down from the Buccaneers 48, Ryan again threw to Jones,
who fought off safety Tanard Jackson for the catch. Jones then
jumped up from the turf, hit cornerback E.J. Biggers with a
stiff-arm and then dragged Biggers into the end zone.

Turner had two touchdown runs and Curtis Lofton returned an
interception 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Matt Bryant kicked a 20-yard field goal late in the fourth
quarter after the Buccaneers were stopped on fourth down at their
10.

Turner’s two touchdowns gave him a team-record 50 rushing scores
with the Falcons, passing Gerald Riggs’ record of 48.

Roddy White also celebrated a milestone, passing Terance Mathis
for the most yards receiving with the Falcons. Mathis had 7,349
yards from 1994-2001. White began Sunday 44 yards behind Mathis and
set the mark in the third quarter.

Although the Atlanta Falcons failed to live up to the expectations their 13-3 2010 season brought upon them, they are still in the NFC playoffs and are still a dangerous team to play. The team possesses top ranked skill position players across the offense, starting with Matt Ryan and ending with rookie wide out, Julio Jones. The 2011 fantasy football season saw several Falcons players inserted into weekly lineups, but who are the biggest surprise and disappointments, and which star can say they were the Falcons 2011 fantasy MVP?

MVP – Matt Ryan

While quarterbacks are always critiqued on their playoff record (Ryan is winless), Ryan has continued to grow during the regular season and has become a top-tier fantasy quarterback. He has already surpassed his career high by more than 300 yards and needs one touchdown in the season finale to tie his career high. For the second straight season, the Falcons are relying on Ryan’s arm to get them to the playoffs, which is something Ryan doesn’t seem to mind.

Biggest Surprise – Julio Jones

The Falcons mortgaged their future to draft the rookie from Alabama and if this season is any indication of the future, they will be alright. Despite missing three games, Jones put together a great fantasy season for fantasy GMs who wanted to give him a go. If he gets another 113 yards in the season finale, Jones will reach 1,000 yards on the year, putting him in great rookie company this season in that club (Victor Cruz and A.J. Green).

Biggest Disappointment – Michael Turner

It’s hard to say that a man who rushed for more than 1,100 yards this season is a disappointment, but for Turner, that is the case. When you look at his numbers, they are on par or even less than what he has done since coming to Atlanta. That is the problem. He was expected to do more than 78 yards per game. Fantasy GMs were hoping to see 85-88 yards per game like they saw a season ago, but it didn’t happen. He has five more receptions this season than he did a year ago, but those 15 catches don’t make managers jump at selecting Turner in PPR leagues.

With most fantasy leagues complete following week 16, I have started my end of season reports prior to the end of the week 17. This notation is for readers to be aware that the statistics mentioned are not final.

For a closer look at All-Injury teams for all major fantasy positions, click here.

More from this contributor:

LeSean McCoy is Top Fantasy Running Back in 2011

Backup Running Backs to make Splash in 2011

Don’t Give up on These Players too Early

Drafting Individual Defensive Players?

Top 2011 Fantasy Football Rookies

Hobson Lopes has been playing fantasy football for more than 10 years and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.

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