Games 15 - 16
GAMES 15-16
Wallace Francis caught touchdown passes of 81 and 12 yards from Steve Bartkowski
Atlanta 35, San Francisco 10
(Atlanta Fulton County Stadium - 55,767)
The Falcons used a second-half flurry of points to overwhelm San Francisco and wrestle the NFC West title away from the L.A. Rams. It was quarterback Steve Bartkowski who once again led the way with 276 yards passing and three touchdowns. The primary recipient was receiver Wallace Francis, who hauled in four Bartkowski passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns. The victory was the ninth straight for the Falcons, setting a club record. For the third consecutive week William Andrews broke the 100-yard mark, rushing for 105 yards on 18 carries. The Falcons led only 7-3 at halftime and were nursing a 14-3 lead late in the third quarter when the 49ers tried an unsuccessful halfback option pass on fourth down at the Atlanta 19-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage following the change of possession, Bartkowski hit Francis on an 81-yard touchdown strike. The Falcons scoring also notched a late defensive touchdown when linebacker Al Richardson fell on a Don Smith forced fumble in the San Francisco end zone.
SCORING:
| Atlanta | 7 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 35 |
| San Francisco | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
- ATL - Bartkowski 1-yard run (Mazzetti kick)
- SF - FG Wersching 41
- ATL - Miller 11-yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)
- ATL - Francis 81-yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)
- ATL - Francis 12-yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)
- ATL - Richardson fumble recovery in end zone (Mazzetti kick)
- SF - Clark 13-yard pass from Montana (Wersching kick)
BOXSCORE:
Rushing
- Falcons - Andrews 18 for 105, Cain 19 for 66, Mayberry 3 for 3, Bartkowski 1 for 1, Anderson 1 for -4
- 49ers - Cooper 3 for 36, Woods 4 for 34, Montana 6 for 32, Elliott 6 for 12, Solomon 1 for 4, Miller 1 for -12
Passing
- Falcons - Bartkowski 22 of 31 for 276 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
- 49ers - Montana 25 of 41 for 222 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT; Solomon 0 of 1
Receiving
- Falcons - Andrews 7 for 62, Miller 6 for 55, Francis 4 for 148, Mayberry 3 for 1, Jenkins 2 for 21, Jackson 1 for 18, Cain 1 for -5
- 49ers - Clark 9 for 90, Cooper 4 for 3, Solomon 3 for 67, Elliott 3 for 30, Woods 2 for 14, Young 2 for 9, Ramson 1 for 7, Owens 1 for 2
Junior Miller caught his ninth touchdown pass of the season, a club record
Los Angeles 20, Atlanta 17
(Anaheim Stadium - 62,469)
Since the championship had already been decided a week prior, the game lacked meaning, but not intensity as the Rams defeated the Falcons 20-17 in overtime to close the regular season. While offense dominated much of the day, defense eventually decided the game as a Los Angeles quarterback sack forced a fumble at the Atlanta eight-yard line, setting up the game winning field goal. Earlier the Falcons had blocked a last-second field goal attempt at the close of regulation time, but fate did not repeat itself in the overtime period as Rich Corral hit a 23-yarder to end the most successful regular season thus far in Falcons history. Quarterback Steve Bartkowski threw two touchdown passes for finish the regular season with 31, the most in the NFL. Tight end Junior Miller caught his ninth touchdown pass of the season, setting a club record.
SCORING:
| Los Angeles | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 (OT) | 20 |
| Atlanta | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
- ATL - Jackson 13-yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)
- LA - FG Corral 26
- ATL - Miller 9-yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)
- LA - J. Thomas 37-yard run (Corral kick)
- LA - Dennard 17-yard pass from Ferragamo (Corral kick)
- ATL - FG Mazzetti 18
- LA - FG Corral 23 (overtime)
BOXSCORE:
Rushing
- Falcons - Cain 19 for 81, Andrews 21 for 78, Mayberry 2 for 6
- Rams - J. Thomas 19 for 144, Bryant 13 for 67, Guman 3 for 24, Dennard 1 for 21, Cromwell 1 for 0
Passing
- Falcons - Bartkowski 13 of 26 for 225, 2 TD, 1 INT
- Rams - Ferragamo 20 of 34 for 213, 1 TD, 0 INT
Receiving
- Falcons - Jenkins 4 for 91, Francis 2 for 40, Andrews 2 for 36, Cain 2 for 27, Miller 2 for 18, Jackson 1 for 13
- Rams - Bryant 7 for 47, Dennard 6 for 96, D. Hill 2 for 19, J. Thomas 2 for 18, Mitchell 1 for 13, Nelson 1 for 12, Guman 1 for 8
