ATLANTA -- It seems strange that, in a state suffering one of the worst droughts in its history, the Falcons would have to weather a storm. But that's exactly what Atlanta did at the Georgia Dome Sunday afternoon, jumping out to a two-score lead and holding on for a 26-16 victory over the visiting Houston Texans (2-2).
In the process, the Falcons (1-3) picked up their first win of the season and gained some much-needed confidence by closing a game out in the fourth quarter.
"We have been fighting through adversity all year long and the team has played hard, practice hard and prepared hard," Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "It paid off today and that is a good feeling. I like the way we played."
The team built a 20-7 lead over the Texans with two first-half touchdown passes from quarterback Joey Harrington to wide receiver Michael Jenkins. Jenkins finished the game with 64 receiving yards and two scores.
Harrington completed 23-of-29 passes for 223 yards (the fourth-highest completion percentage in team history). His rating was 121.7 and he didn't throw an interception for a second straight week. His second touchdown pass to Jenkins gave the Falcons a 17-7 advantage with 8:22 remaining in the first half.
"The factor that makes me feel good about this win is that we’ve improved from week to week," Harrington said. "These are noticeable improvements because you can look at game one and game four and see our progress. This is what we have to do on a continual basis and take it into next week versus the Tennessee Titans. The fact that we’re 1-3 is not the most positive, but we took a step up today to where we want to be at the end of the season.”
The offense also took advantage of the defense's solid play Sunday afternoon, scoring after Stephen Nicholas recovered a fumble by Texans fullback Vonta Leach (forced by Michael Boley) and getting a Morten Andersen field goal after stopping the Texans on fourth-and-2 with 5:36 remaining in the second quarter -- another play stopped by Boley.
Most impressive, though, was how the Falcons responded to early adversity.
The team trailed 7-3 with 5:34 left in the first quarter, but counter punched after a Texans touchdown with an eight-play, 68-yard drive finished with a Jenkins touchdown. That gave the Falcons a 10-7 lead they never relinquished.
Houston didn't make it easy, though, especially in the second half.
Twice in the third quarter the Texans drove deep into Falcons territory. Twice the visitors walked away with field goals. The second series ended with a pass attempt on third-and-goal at the 1 that was broken up by a Lawyer Milloy blitz. By forcing Kris Brown kicks, the Falcons were able to keep their lead at no less than seven.
Petrino talked earlier in the week about using the running game to evaporate the clock and hold on to a lead in the fourth quarter. His comments proved prophetic as the Falcons used a mix of the run and short passes to running backs to drive into Texans territory in the fourth quarter, take more than six minutes off the game clock, and set up a 46-yard field goal by Andersen.
“We have to understand how important it is to win games at home," tight end Alge Crumpler said. "We have to be able to take care of our house because we work extremely hard. It’s a matter of us being able to finish and close out games Today we were able to finish and win the fourth quarter."
Defensive end John Abraham forced a Matt Schaub fumble with 8:11 remaining and defensive end Chauncey Davis recovered at the Houston 19. But the offense didn't pick up a first down on the ensuing drive and Andersen's fifth field goal attempt was tipped no good.
It was time to "finish" in the fourth quarter and the Texans were driving deep into Falcons territory again with under five minutes to play.
A holding call backed Houston up to the Falcons 13, forcing a pass on first-and-goal. That ball was tipped away by linebacker Keith Brooking. But, a quarterback draw on second down went for an apparent touchdown, closing the gap to three with just more than two minutes remaining. Petrino then challenged the call as Schaub was falling to the ground as he neared the goal line.
The coach's second challenge of the day resulted in another over-turned play and a banged-up Schaub brought the offense back on the field for third-and-goal at the 1. The Texans tried a back-door pitch to Ron Dayne on the next play, but the ball was bobbled by the veteran running back and bounced it's way out of bounds.
Brown missed a field goal on the next snap, ending a final threat.
“We were talking on the sidelines the whole time saying: 'It’s going to fall on the defense’s shoulders to win this ball game. We’re going to have to make a stop in the end.'" Brooking said. "That’s the way most NFL games work and we really focused on that all week.”
Stay with AtlantaFalcons.com through Sunday night for continuing game coverage.
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-TEXANS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the Texans-Falcons game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the Georgia Dome press box
- INACTIVES: Inactives and starters from Week 4
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Quarterback Joey Harrington
- VIDEO: Defensive end John Abraham
- VIDEO: Linebacker Keith Brooking
- VIDEO: Wide receiver Michael Jenkins
- AUDIO: Tight end Alge Crumpler
- HIGHLIGHTS: Game highlights from NFL Network
