ATLANTA -- Chris Redman said he plays a mental game while standing on the sideline so he’s prepared and not nervous if the call comes to enter the game at a moment’s notice.
Fortunately for Redman, he had more than a moment. Redman made the most of his opportunity, rallying the Falcons for a 20-17 victory over the Bucs and throwing the winning touchdown pass on fourth down with 23 seconds left in regulation.
After Falcons’ starting quarterback Matt Ryan was injured on a series-ending sack on third down with 10:57 left in the first quarter, Redman did not take the field for another 7:49 following a long drive by Tampa Bay.
But when he entered the game, Redman, 32, was ready -- even though he hadn’t thrown a pass in a regular season NFL game in close to two years. The signs of his readiness were everywhere. He completed 8 of his first 9 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown.
And there also was the fire that Tony Gonzalez saw in Redman’s eyes. In particular, Gonzalez saw it on the first play of Redman’s third drive when he decided to take the ball on his own around the right side and went shoulder first into Tampa’s 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker Quincy Black.
“He came in there and he was fired up -- he was real fired up,” Gonzalez said. “He was totally tunnel-visioned and focused. But you couldn’t tell me on that time he took off on that scramble and went head first, it’s like, ‘Hey, man, take it easy, you know, we need you for the rest of the game.’
“But that’s the bravado that he has. It was good out there.”
Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith said one of the best things Redman did as a back-up entering the game in difficult circumstances was not to make any mistakes.
Redman did not throw an interception, nor did he fumble despite being sacked five times. He finished with 23 completions on 41 attempts (56.1 percent) for 243 yards and two touchdowns for a rating of 89.8.
Plus, he had that little 5-yard pass to Roddy White to win the game after throwing five straight incompletions -- six including a first-down play to spike the ball and stop the clock.
“I think’s Chris numbers were outstanding,” Smith said. “…I thought he ran the offense very effectively. Had the two touchdowns and, of course, the great throw to Roddy at the end the game and did not turn the ball over. And as a back-up in this league, it’s a very difficult position -- especially the quarterback position -- because you maybe get 15 snaps during the week and Chris, when called upon, made the most of his opportunity.”
Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris said Redman was “smart with the football.”
“That’s the kind of player he is and the kind of player that develops in Atlanta,” Morris said.
True, Redman has developed in Atlanta, but it’s been more of a renaissance. He had formally filed his retirement papers and sold insurance from 2004 to 2006 before he returned when his college coach at Louisville, Bobby Petrino, became the Falcons’ head coach in 2007 and offered him a chance to make the team.
But Smith also shared some familiarity with Redman from their days with the Baltimore Ravens. They were there together for three seasons when Smith was an assistant coach.
But that was ancient history and Redman wrote some new history on Sunday. The Falcons made the game into a high-wire act, falling down by a touchdown early in the second half and having to rally at the end. A loss would have devastated their playoff chances and meant a fifth loss in six games.
“We obviously didn’t want it to come down to the last second, but I think it showed great determination for the whole team,” Redman said. “Everybody would hang tough and nobody would quit. I think that’s special and this is a special team.”
Despite that string of incompletions before the winning throw, Redman fell back on his mental toughness, saying his goal was to “just hang tough.”
“I felt like I was little off,” he said. “A great job and all, but there’s a lot of corrections to make. And the timing obviously was a little off from not playing. You just fight through it. I knew I could do it. And stay positive. Coach Smitty always tells us to stay positive no matter what and that’s what I was doing.”
Plus, he saw White in man coverage. When the Bucs called timeout, he thought they would switch up their defense. But they didn’t. And he knew Gonzalez was going to be double-teamed. So he knew where to go with the football.
“Roddy White out there one-on-one, Pro-Bowl receiver,” he said. “I like my chances. I totally believe in him.”
Now, so do the Falcons in Redman.
INJURY NOTES: Smith said he did not have an update on either injured running back Michael Turner (sprained ankle) nor did he have one on Ryan’s injured toe.
“Guys, I really wish I could tell you,” he said of Ryan. “I know he’s in the training room getting looked at. We’ll have a little bit better prognosis [on Wednesday].”
Of Turner he said, “We won’t have any update on Michael Turner right now. We’ll have a lot more information on Wednesday after practice.”
Smith also said left tackle Sam Baker left the game because he was “banged up.” Baker has been listed on the team’s injury report in recent weeks with both ankle and elbow injuries and missed the Carolina game because of the ankle.
Right guard Harvey Dahl also left the game with injuries described as ankle/Achilles tendon and did not return.
MORE FALCONS-BUCCANEERS COVERAGE:
- GAMEDAY LIVE: More Falcons-Bucs coverage from AtlantaFalcons.com
- GAME CENTER: Stats and more in the NFL.com Game Center
- FIRST TAKE: Exclusive interviews with Falcons Radio's Dave Archer
- MULTIMEDIA: More videos and interviews from AF.com
- GAME STORY: Redman leads Falcons to victory
- THE BEAT BLOG: Game thoughts from John Manasso, Special to AF.com
- J. MIKE'S MISSIVES: Thoughts on the game from the AF.com managing editor
- GAME NOTES: Official game notes and stats from the Georgia Dome press box
- IMAGES: Exclusive Falcons photos from team photographer Jimmy Cribb
- QUOTABLE: Postgame thoughts from Falcons players | Buccaneers
- FORUMS: Talk about the game with other fans on FalconsLIFE
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