NFL Recap (Atlanta-NY Giants)
Posted: Mon October 12, 1998 at 12:57 a.m EDT
ATLANTA 34, NY GIANTS 20
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Chris Chandler threw for
266 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as the surprising Atlanta Falcons
manhandled the New York
Giants, 34-20, in Dan Reeves' return to the Meadowlands.
Chandler, who went 14-for-27, threw touchdown passes of 36 and 55
yards before scoring the pivotal TD on a one-yard rollout. Jamal Anderson balanced
the Atlanta attack with his third straight 100-yard rushing effort,
collecting 110 yards on 29 carries.
Reeves was fired as Giants' coach after a 6-10 season in 1996 and was
hired by the Falcons as coach and executive vice president of football
operations. In his first year, Atlanta was 7-9 but finished with six wins
in its last eight games.
The Falcons have picked up where they left off last season, winning
four of their first five games to tie the San Francisco 49ers atop
the NFC West.
The soft-spoken coach chose to downplay any revenge factor.
"The most important thing, without question, is getting to 4-1," said
Reeves. "Beating a conference team is important and I felt the key coming
in was our ability to run the ball and the ability not to turn it over."
"Everybody understands that we should be doing better than we have
been doing," said Anderson. "We did a great job in situations where
play-calling was concerned. New York is a very dangerous team and we had
to take it to them on the ground."
Danny Kanell
struggled again for New York, completing 11-of-21 passes for only 100
yards. In the Giants' last 29 offensive series, they have managed only
three touchdowns. Atlanta recorded six sacks, including one in the second
quarter when defensive end Antonio Edwards ripped a
ball from Kanell's hands and returned the fumble two yards for a touchdown.
"I am very disappointed with our performance tonight," said Fassel. "I
thought we would play better than that. I never questioned this team's
work ethic to prepare, offensively up front we are not executing at all. I
tried to do some things this week for the game that would give us better
protection to get the ball down the field. And we were still not able to
do that."
Cornerback Carlton
Gray, subbing for the injured Phillippi Sparks, had a
bad day for New York. He was burned repeatedly and flagged for
interference on Chandler's 55-yard touchdown pass to Terance Mathis that put the
Falcons on top, 24-13.
The meeting was the first in a decade between the teams and marked the
Falcons' first visit to Giants Stadium since a win on Opening Day in 1982.
The Giants (2-4) broke on top 3-0 early in the first quarter when a
fumble by Conrad
Hamilton set up a 46-yard field goal by Brad Daluiso. But
Chandler put the Falcons on top for good with by driving Atlanta 70 yards
in four plays, culminating in a 36-yard bomb to Tony Martin.
That drive was kept alive by another poor play by the Giants
secondary. Nickel back Jeremy Lincoln was flagged
for a 16-yard pass intereference penalty on 3rd-and-5 from the Atlanta 35.
Two plays later Chandler found Martin with a bomb down the right hash mark.
New York answered with a 45-yard field goal by Daluiso and the defense
held Atlanta on its next possession. But when the Giants took over deep in
their own territory, Kanell dropped back to pass and was stripped of the
ball. Edwards initially juggled the strip but gathered it in and rumbled in
from two yards out for a 14-6 lead.
"We had a little stunt on and I came through the line and saw Kanell,"
said Edwards. "He tried to pull up and I just reached back for the ball and
kind of tipped it up and back to me. Then I just ran it on in."
The Giants again answered, when with 33 seconds left in the half when
Kanell hit David Patten
in stride with a 39-yard scoring strike. After looking lost for most of the
first half, Kanell executed the two-minute offense to perfection, moving
the team 72 yards in eight plays in just 87 seconds.
Morten Andersen
extended Atlanta's lead to 17-13 midway through the third quarter with a
26-yard field goal. The Falcons then took advantage of the Giants
secondary late in the third quarter. Chandler got Gray to bite on a play
fake and Mathis ran right by the six-year veteran. Mathis hauled in the
bomb along the right sideline and cruised in for touchdown, despite being
interfered with by Gray.
Gray then had a costly personal foul on the Falcons first drive of the
fourth quarter. That set up Chandler's rollout that turned a one-yard
touchdown run and gave Atlanta a 31-13 lead.
Kanell then fumbled again miday through the quarter, setting up
another field goal by Andersen.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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