He capped the drive 7-for-7 passing for 61 yards with his fourth touchdown of the season, this one to Ahmad Bradshaw on a shovel pass that cut the Falcons’ lead to 14-7. “If he’s rolling like (against Denver) and we’re staying balanced and gaining yards and he feels good, then we’re going to do what we have to do to win ball games”. The guy is wearing Depends and knocking home game winners every week. “It’s incredible to watch”. Quinn’s quote: “I think the thing that jumps out is the guy’s football smarts”.
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And it occurred to him in a way it never dawned on him before: His three children, ages 14, 12 and 10, were not yet aware of the world beyond cartoons and toys to know that, hey, their dad was once a very fine, very prolific National Football League starting quarterback.
“Each one is exciting in its own way”, Vinatieri said of his long list of game-winning kicks.
The running back left the game in the first quarter after taking a hard hit. Atlanta remains in position for one of the NFC wild cards, but the Falcons have dropped two straight games and three of their last four. The Falcons committed three turnovers, none more costly than quarterback Matt Ryan’s interception that Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson returned for a touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 in the fourth quarter.
“I turn back (and) he looks like just the soulless man back there ready to just make it happen, ” McAfee said. “We’ll learn from it. And I’m sure there will be a few moments where everybody’s pissed off. You move forward, and you try to learn from them [and] be better the next time we have those opportunities come up”.
Matt Hasselbeck gets the start, he’s led Indy to two victories and he probably won’t see a ton of pressure in this one from the Falcons defense. He is 3-0 when filling in for injured Andrew Luck this season. It wasn’t pretty. But it’s a win, and this team will take wins however they can get them these days.
That doesn’t bode well against a Falcons’ offense that ranks No. 5 in yards per game (402.2) and third-down conversions (45 percent), and No. 8 in points (25.4). Following the bye week, he suddenly re-emerged.
It’ll mean the defense has to continue to play well, forcing three turnovers on Sunday and keeping Atlanta from getting any kind of rhythm all day. White had four catches for 24 yards on a season-high nine targets.
Frank Gore had 80 yards from scrimmage, including a key 31-yard screen pass on the game-winning drive to get the team into field-goal range. Those who have been telling us so are welcome to say “I told you so”, but you can’t blame anyone for wanting to hold on to hope given the tough defense and presence of playmakers on the offense.
The most crucial mistake came after the Colts downed a punt inside the 1.
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 43-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining, and the Indianapolis Colts overcame a pair of two-touchdown deficits to beat the slumping Atlanta Falcons 24-21 on Sunday behind backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
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That “anybody” on Sunday often could be Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis of the Indianapolis Colts. Still, this is a team with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
