NFL Old School Game of the Week: Falcons Shock 49ers to Clinch Playoff Berth

Falcons quarterback Bobby Hebert came off the bench to complete 17 of 27 passes for 197 yards and threw two touchdown passes.

The Week 17 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons in the final week of the 1995 regular season had playoff implications for both teams as the 49ers were seeking to secure home field advantage while the Falcons were looking to secure their place in the postseason.

The '95 season had been a up-and-down one for the Falcons as they started the season with a 4-1 record which included a 23-20 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1(To read about that game, click on the link highlighted here: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2023/09/nfl-old-school-game-of-week-falcons.html)before going 4-6 over their next 10 games to enter the regular season finale with a 8-7 record.

The Falcons were led by head coach June Jones, who was in his second season as the Atlanta head coach after serving the previous three yeas as the Falcons' offensive coordinator, as Jones' "Run N Shoot" offense was directed by quarterback Jeff George who had thrown for 4,031 yards up to this point in this season as wide receivers Bert Emanuel, Eric Metcalf, and Terrance Mathis would all finish the season with at least 1,000 receiving yards.

However on the defensive end, the Falcons were last in passing yards allowed and 29th out of 30 teams in total yards allowed as Atlanta had given at least 20 points in eleven out of the 15 games during the regular season as they gave up an average of 21.6 points per game while the offense averaged 22.2 points per game.

All the Falcons needed to do was their final regular season game to clinch a spot in the playoffs for only the sixth time in team history and first since 1991.

But the Falcons' opponents were the defending Super Bowl Champion 49ers who came into the game with a 11-4 record and needed to beat the Falcons to secure home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

The 49ers were led by quarterback Steve Young, whose four-year run as the NFL's top rated quarterback would come to an end in 1995 because Young missed five games during the season, and wide receiver Jerry Rice, who was having perhaps the best year of his Hall-of-Fame career as he had caught 110 passes for 1,695 yards while catching 15 touchdown passes.

Despite being the road team, the 49ers were double digit favorites to defeat the Falcons as San Francisco had won their previous three meetings with Atlanta by a combined score of 133-27 since Jones' promotion to head coach including a 41-10 romp by the Niners during the second week of the '95 season.

The 49ers would start the game with the ball at their 20-yard-line as Young would complete five of seven passes for 64 yards to move San Francisco to the Falcons' six-yard-line when Young completed a short pass to fullback Adam Walker who was hit by Falcons linebacker Darryl Talley at the one-yard-line causing a fumble that would go into the end zone.

Fortunately for San Francisco, Rice would fall on the football for the 49ers touchdown to give San Francisco a 7-0 lead with 9:24 remaining in the first quarter.

The Falcons would get good field position for their opening possession as Jamal Anderson returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to the Atlanta 35-yard-line as George would complete two passes for 15 yards begin to the drive then handed the ball off to running back Craig "Ironhead" Heyward who reeled off a 19-yard run to give the Falcons a 1st down at the 49ers' 31-yard-line.

However, the drive would stall as the Falcons lost three yards on the next three plays as they would settle for a 52-yard field goal by Morten Andersen to put Atlanta on the scoreboard and cut the 49ers' lead to 7-3 with 5:34 left in the first quarter.

The 49ers would begin their ensuing possession at their 22-yard-line as the other 49ers starting wide receiver, J.J. Stokes, would make his presence felt as he would catch three passes for 35 yards to help San Francisco advance to the Atlanta 41-yard-line.

That is when it looked like the 49ers had called for a double reverse as the ball ended up in Rice's hands who stopped and fired a deep pass down the right sideline for Stokes, who made the catch for the 41-yard touchdown as for the first and only touchdown pass of Rice's career as San Francisco increased its lead to 14-3 with 1:58 to play in the opening period.

Jerry Rice caught 12 passes for 153 yards while recovering a fumble for one 49ers touchdown and throwing a 41-yard touchdown pass for another 49ers touchdown.

Another long kickoff return, this time by Eric Metcalf for 37 yards, gave the Falcons good field position as their begin their next drive at their 45-yard-line as two running plays would gain 13 yards to put Atlanta at the San Francisco 42-yard-line as George would complete four straight passes with his last completion being a 12-yard touchdown to Metcalf, who made a one-handed catch for the touchdown on the third play of the second quarter to cut the 49ers' advantage to 14-10.

It looked like a track meet was starting to develop especially when Young connected with Rice for a 57-yard completion on the first play of the 49ers' ensuing possession to give San Francisco a 1st & goal at the Atlanta eight-yard-line.

Rice would then catch a seven-yard pass to set up a one-yard touchdown run by running back Derek Loville to push the 49ers' lead to 21-9 with 12:16 to go in the second quarter.

After the two teams traded punts on their next possessions, Atlanta would get the ball back at their 14-yard-line as a 41-yard pass from George to Metcalf would help the Falcons drive to the 49ers' nine-yard-line where they had a 3rd & 2 when George threw an incomplete pass intended for Emanuel when 49ers defensive end Tim Harris drove George into the ground which resulted in the Falcons quarterback spraining his neck.

As George was taken off the field, he gave the 49ers bench the finger as Andersen would come on to kick a 28-yard field goal that cut the 49ers' lead to 21-12 with 1:50 left in the first half.

After forcing the 49ers three-and-out on their ensuing possession, the Falcons would begin their next drive at their 36-yard-line as backup Bobby Hebert would come on to take the reins as the Atlanta quarterback as the Falcons had 78 seconds left before halftime to get some points on the scoreboard.

Hebert would complete four of five passes for 23 yards to move the Falcons to the 49ers' 41-yard-line when Jones would send in the field goal unit as Andersen would attempt a 59-yard field goal with 15 seconds to go.

Andersen, who had made a team-record 55-yard field goal two weeks earlier, would shatter his own record as he made the 59-yard field goal to bring the Falcons to within a touchdown at 21-15 as the first half came to an close.

The Falcons got the ball to start the second half as Hebert hit Emanuel on a 32-yard catch-and-run to help move Atlanta to the San Francisco 20-yard-line when on 4th & 1, the Falcons decided to go for the 1st down which they got as Hebert kept it himself as he picked up two yards to move the sticks.

Hebert would then connect with Emanuel for a 10-yard completion on a 3rd & 9 to set up Hebert's seven-yard touchdown pass to Mathis to give the Falcons a 22-21 lead as they would go for two after the touchdown which failed as Hebert would then an incomplete pass on the two-point attempt.

Following an exchange of punts, the 49ers got the ball back at their four-yard-line as Young would complete passes of 13 yards to Loville followed by a 17-yard completion to tight end Brent Jones and then back to Rice for 33 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter to move San Francisco to the Atlanta 26-yard-line.

The Falcons defense would hold the 49ers to five yards on the next three plays, forcing San Francisco to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins to put the 49ers back on top with a 24-22 lead with 12:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Falcons wide receiver Terrance Mathis caught eight passes for 84 yards and scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner with less than two minutes left.

After forcing a Falcons punt, the 49ers would begin their next possession at their 21-yard-line as Rice would catch three passes for 25 yards to help move San Francisco advance to the 50-yard-line when Young threw deep for Rice who made an uncharacteristic drop with the ball at the goal line and what would have been a 50-yard touchdown.

Six plays later, the 49ers were at the Falcons' nine-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 4 situation when Falcons linebacker sacked Young for a five-yard loss which forced San Francisco to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Wilkins which increased the 49ers' lead to 27-22 with 3:36 to go in the game.

Needing a touchdown to retake the lead, the Falcons would begin their next possession at their 20-yard-line as Hebert would find wide receiver J.J. Birden for 15 yards which was followed by a five-yard pass to Mathis to set up 2nd & 5.

After two incomplete passes, the Falcons were faced with a do-or-die 4th & 5 when Hebert connected with Metcalf for a 23-yard completion to give Atlanta a 1st down at the 49ers' 37-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.

On the next play from scrimmage, Hebert would take the snap and scrambled to his left side before firing a pass to Mathis, who made the catch near the left sideline around the 49ers' 10-yard-line and then zigzagged his way through the 49ers defense until he was able to dive into the end zone to complete the 37-yard touchdown and give the Falcons a 28-27 lead with 1:45 left in the game.

Because the Falcons failed to convert on the two-point touchdown after Mathis' touchdown, the 49ers had a chance to win the game if they could drive down into Atlanta territory and kick a field goal as they would begin their ensuing possession at the San Francisco 27-yard-line.

The drive would begin with two incomplete passes until Young hit Rice for eight yards to set up a 4th & 2 when Rice would make his 12th catch of the game as his 10-yard reception to give the 49ers a 1st down at their 45-yard-line when a pass interference penalty on Falcons free safety Devin Bush would put San Francisco at the Falcons' 44-yard-line with 46 seconds to go.

Two incomplete passes and a quarterback sack by Falcons defensive tackle Lester Archambeau would force the 49ers into a 4th & 14 situation when Young threw a pass intended for Jones that was picked off by Falcons strong safety Kevin Ross as he would return the interception 17 yards to the Atlanta 46-yard-line.

Hebert would come on to take a knee to run out the remaining time on the clock as the Falcons secured a spot in the NFL playoffs with a 28-27 win as the 49ers would end up as the #2 seed in the NFC as the Cowboys were win the following night to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Unfortunately for the Falcons and the 49ers, their quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy would both end at the hands of the Green Bay Packers as the Packers defeated the Falcons 37-20 in the Wild Card round which was followed by the Packers upsetting the 49ers in the Divisional Round as Green Bay eliminated the defending Super Bowl Champions with a 27-17 win in San Francisco.