December 20, 2009, Atlanta Falcons eliminated from playoffs reaction sidebar for Atlanta Journal Constitution

With playoff hopes gone, Falcons hang on

By Denis Gorman

For the AJC

6:55 p.m. Sunday, December 20, 2009

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — John Abraham stared incredulously at his questioner as he contorted his face into a mask of sarcastic disbelief.

“Uh, yes. Yes. Yes. We know what happened.,” said Abraham, after being asked if he and his teammates knew that the Falcons had been eliminated from the playoffs prior to Sunday’s 10-7 win over the Jets at the Meadowlands. “Nobody’s giving up here. We’re still going to finish [up] with a winning season.”

Atlanta needed to win its final three games, plus have the Cowboys lose their final three games and the Giants win one of their three remaining games. With the Cowboys’ 24-17 upset of previously unbeaten New Orleans Saturday night, the Falcons’ season (7-7) came to an unofficial and painfully early end. For a team that entered the 2009 season with playoff aspirations following a wild card berth last season, that their campaign comes down to finishing with a winning record is a disappointment, but necessary. The Falcons admitted to that.

“Coach [Mike] Smith kept emphasizing that everybody is going to think that maybe you’re going to lay down because they think you have nothing to play for [after Dallas' win],” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “But as a man, take a little pride in what you do for a living and really loving what you do, then you owe it to yourself, the fans and the organization to go out there and play your butts off.”

When the Falcons examine what went wrong in 2009, the 2-4 slide in the last six weeks should figure prominently. Atlanta had opportunities to beat the Giants (34-31 OT loss on Nov. 22) and the Saints (26-23 loss on Dec. 13), and probably should have beaten a Carolina team that had alternated wins and losses in the four weeks prior to its 28-19 win at the Georgia Dome on Nov. 15.

“How our season has been going all year, to have this kind of win and to have it come down to the last play go our way finally, it felt good,” said Abraham.

Though the players knew that they would not be in the playoffs, Mike Smith decided to wait until after Sunday’s game to break the news.

“I never mentioned it to this football team. The first time I mentioned it to them was after the game today,” said Smith. “They are aware of it, but it’s our job to go out and play the game of football.”

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