Falcons

ATLANTA FALCONS defensive coordinator Mike Nolan holds a dubious distinction in pro football annals. Only nine head coaches in the history of the sport, with a minimum of 50 games at the helm, have a worse winning percentage than the one Nolan (18-37, .327) racked up with San Francisco from 2005-08. The list is not long, and certainly not distinguished. Marion Campbell is a member - though, to be fair, he was slightly better with the Eagles (17-29-1, .370) than Nolan was with the Niners.

DETROIT - Matt Ryan matched a career high with four touchdown passes to help the Atlanta Falcons win earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Ryan was 25 of 32 for 279 yards as Atlanta (13-2) led from start to finish in a 31-18 victory over Detroit on Saturday night. Falcons 31, Lions 18 Atlanta 7 14 0 10 – 31 Detroit 3 3 7 5 – 18 First quarter Atl–White 44 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick), 5:50. Det–FG Hanson 34, :13. Second quarter Atl–White 39 pass from Ryan (Bryant kick)

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons wanted to make a statement. Boy, did they deliver one Sunday to the defending Super Bowl champions. Coming off an ugly loss and criticized for failing to impress even when they won, the Falcons turned in their most well-rounded performance of the season with the playoffs approaching. Matt Ryan threw three TD passes and the defense handed New York its first regular-season shutout since 1996, routing the Giants, 34-0. "We love the haters, man," said Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel, who had the first of two interceptions against Eli Manning.

ATLANTA - The Falcons sent a message to all the skeptics with a resounding victory Sunday over the defending Super Bowl champions. Matt Ryan threw three touchdowns passes as the defense handed the New York Giants their first regular-season shutout since 1996 in Atlanta's 34-0 win. Julio Jones caught a couple of scoring throws from Ryan, who broke his own franchise records for completions and passing yards in a season. The Penn Charter grad finished 23 of 28 for 270 yards. The Giants, meanwhile, were 0 for 3 on fourth down and missed a short field goal.

THROUGH WEEK 13, I'm hitting on 56.7 percent of my picks, which isn't all that bad. Problem is, my pool requires us to rank each team that we take, No. 1 through No. 8. The No. 1 team is worth eight points, the No. 2 team is worth seven, the No. 3 is worth six, and so on. Long story short, I haven't had the greatest of luck with where I rank my teams. So now it is going to take something close to perfection, a "Remember the Titans"-type run to finish the season near the top of the standings.

ATLANTA - Drew Brees lost twice Thursday night. He and the New Orleans Saints fell, 23-13 to the red-hot Falcons (11-1), and the star quarterback saw the end of his NFL record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass. He had thrown a TD in 54 straight games, but was plagued Thursday night by five interceptions to an Atlanta team that was motivated by four straight losses in their NFC South rivalry with New Orleans. In the loss, Brees finished 28-for-50 for 341 yards as the Saints fell to 5-7. His Falcons counterpart, Matt Ryan, was 18 for 33 for 165 yards and one touchdown pass, a 17-yard pass to tight end Tony Gonzalez early in the second quarter.

TAMPA, Fla. - The Atlanta Falcons stumbled into a hole, only to find a way to escape again. Penn Charter grad Matt Ryan threw for 353 yards and overcame two critical turnovers by leading another late touchdown drive to rally the Falcons to a 24-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Ryan teamed with Julio Jones on an 80-yard TD midway through the third quarter, but the NFC South leaders found themselves trailing, 23-17, after the Bucs marched for a touchdown, then forced a fumble by Ryan to set up a field goal that put the Falcons in pursuit mode with 10 minutes to go. Michael Turner's 3-yard TD run put Atlanta ahead for good with 7 minutes, 55 seconds left.

NEW ORLEANS - The Atlanta Falcons can forget about perfection, thanks to their resurgent rivals from the City that Care Forgot. Of all the teams to end Atlanta's unbeaten run, it had to be the New Orleans Saints. And it had to be a memorable, drama-filled game that left the Falcons frustrated by the 1 meager yard they could not get to take a lead inside the final 2 minutes of a 31-27 loss Sunday. "It's very frustrating," said Falcons coach Mike Smith, who is 2-7 against the Saints and 49-15 against the rest of the NFL in his four-plus regular seasons as Atlanta coach.

NEW ORLEANS - Of all the teams to end the Atlanta Falcons' unbeaten run, it had to be their resurgent rivals, the Saints, in a game filled with drama until the end. Jimmy Graham caught seven passes for a career-best 146 yards and two touchdowns, and cornerback Jabari Greer made a diving, touchdown-saving pass breakup on a late fourth-down play Sunday as the New Orleans Saints held on to hand the Falcons their first loss, 31-27. Graham and his Atlanta counterpart, veteran tight end Tony Gonzalez, both were superb in a game that showcased all the intensity and momentum changes one would expect from one of the NFL's most passionate rivalries.