 |
| Though he was called for offensive pass interference on this catch, Michael Crabtree had a great game for the 49ers in Monday night's win. |
Cory Puffett
Navorro Bowman shut down Candlestick Park in style with a
game-winning, playoff-clinching 89-yard pick-6 with 1:10 left in the game.
The San Francisco 49ers will open up a new stadium next
year, but they closed this one with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons to
clinch a playoff spot and stay in the running for home field advantage.
Colin Kaepernick and the offense struggled to do anything in
the first half and trailed 10-3 at the half. Something clicked in the second
half though as they went 83 yards on six plays to score on their opening drive
of the second half. Phil Dawson added a field goal late in the third quarter to
give his team a 13-10 lead over the Falcons entering the final quarter.
The floodgates opened after that and the two teams combined
for 35 points in the final fifteen minutes.
Matt Ryan had a fantastic game for Atlanta. He completed 37
of 48 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. His first interception was
Bowman’s pick-6, which was bobbled by Harry Douglas. The second came on a
last-second Hail Mary that really didn’t need to be run and shouldn’t count
against him in terms of how Ryan played on Monday.
Roddy White helped keep Atlanta in the game, grabbing 12
catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Tony Gonzalez also had a touchdown catch
in the final Monday night game of his career.
San Francisco did a lot of running. Frank Gore fell just shy
of 100 yards and Kaepernick and Kendall Hunter each added 51 yards. The team
totaled 199 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.
Atlanta recovered a perfect onside kick late in the game,
and San Francisco’s defense bent but did not break.
The 49ers’ win locks up a playoff spot and they could still clinch home field advantage
next week. Meanwhile, it puts Arizona in a tough spot next week. The Cardinals
will have to beat San Francisco and
have the Saints lose at home to Tampa Bay to enter the playoffs. If Arizona and
New Orleans both win, the Cardinals will be 11-5 and miss the playoffs.
Atlanta hosts Carolina next week and if they can win, and
St. Louis manages to knock off Seattle, they could help San Francisco into the
NFC #1 seed.
Final Score:
Atlanta Falcons – 24
San Francisco 49ers – 34
No comments:
Post a Comment