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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Super Bowl, it wasn't. Still, for a team desperate to prove last year was an aberration, the Atlanta Falcons had plenty of reasons for optimism.
|  | | Atlanta receiver Shawn Jefferson sliced through the San Francisco defense to catch seven passes for a career-high 148 yards.
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Again, Jamal Anderson ran with his knock-'em-down,
drag-'em-along style. Right away, Shawn Jefferson and Ashley
Ambrose paid dividends on a hefty investment. And this time, the Falcons didn't have to wait until Week 5 for their first victory.
"Once we got rolling, it was very much approaching what we were able to do a couple of years ago," quarterback Chris Chandler said after Atlanta opened with a 36-28 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Two years ago, the Falcons made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Anderson isn't making his reservations for Tampa just yet, knowing this was the 49ers in name only.
"We've got some work ahead of us before we can run around with banners," said Anderson, who rushed for 77 yards on 24 carries
after tearing up his knee early last season. "But at least we're headed in the right direction."
Jefferson caught seven passes for a career-high 148 yards, while Ambrose returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown. Both
were playing their first games for the Falcons, who signed them to contracts totaling nearly $37 million after starting last season
0-4 and finishing 5-11.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Offensively, the Falcons showed some big-play capability in their victory over the 49ers. Jamal Anderson made a nice return from his knee injury. Anderson didn't have overwhelming statistics, but he put up a solid performance.
It will take some time for Anderson to work himself back into condition and get confidence back in his leg. If he does that, with Chris Chandler and young receivers like Tim Dwight and Brian Finneran, the Falcons have a chance to be an explosive offense and do some of the things they did a couple years ago when they went to the Super Bowl.
There are glimpses of hope for the 49ers, but they are a very young team that is going to struggle from week to week. They have to look for small gains to keep their optimism because they are depending on a lot of rookies, and that's not a good position to be in. The fans in San Francisco will have to be patient. |
"We wanted to show them what type of players they picked up," Ambrose said.
San Francisco still is picking up the pieces after going 4-12, ending a run of 16 consecutive winning seasons that included five
Super Bowl titles.
Jeff Garcia, taking over formally as successor to the retired
Steve Young, threw for 253 yards and three touchdowns. But he also
underthrew Jerry Rice along the left sideline in the third quarter,
giving Ambrose a chance to step in for the easy touchdown.
"I really believe we are going to be a good team," Garcia said. "We know where we have to go from here."
Atlanta's Morten Andersen tied a career-high with five field
goals, all in the first half, and broke Mick Luckhurst's team record for most career field goals with 119. Andersen has 421
overall.
Jefferson, giving the Falcons a deep threat they didn't have last year, hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Chris Chandler just 54 seconds into the second half. It gave Atlanta a 29-14 lead.
Chandler also hooked up with Terance Mathis on a 44-yard
touchdown in the second quarter.
Ahmed Plummer, a rookie forced to start right away in the 49ers
shaky secondary, was beaten on both of the long touchdown passes.
"Thank God for tomorrow," Plummer said.
Fred Beasley scored three touchdowns for the 49ers. He grabbed a
couple of 4-yard scoring passes and ran one in from the 1.
The 49ers might be a shell of their former greatness, but they
brought back memories of the good ol' days on their first
possession. San Francisco drove 74 yards on eight plays, capped by
Garcia's first TD pass to Beasley.
After falling behind 36-21, the 49ers didn't quit in the fourth
quarter. Garcia drove his team to the Atlanta 4 before getting
sacked by Henri Crockett on fourth down. After Anderson fumbled,
the 49ers made it close on Garcia's 6-yard scoring pass to Terrell
Owens with 2:50 left.
But the Falcons picked up a couple of first downs, including a
13-yard run by Anderson that ran out the clock. The former All-Pro
jogged off the field alone as the final seconds ticked away, as if
to show the Georgia Dome crowd his right knee was fine.
Andersen, who missed his first four kicks last season, hit twice
from 44 yards, another from 43, one from 24 and drilled a 48-yarder
on the final play of the half. Atlanta scored on its first seven
possessions.
"I felt like as soon as I was off the field, I was right back
on," Andersen said. "I felt like an every-down player."
Game notes
San Francisco safety Lance Schulters was knocked out of the
game on the first play from scrimmage in the second half. After
missing a tackle on Anderson, a pile of players rolled into
Schulters' left ankle. X-rays were negative, but he will undergo an
MRI on Monday to determine if the injury is more serious than a
sprain. ... Mathis managed to play after hurting his hip during the
pregame workout. He caught three passes for 72 yards. ... Offensive
lineman Bob Whitfield set an Atlanta record by starting his 113th
consecutive game.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
Week 1 wrap-ups
Week 1 infirmary report
TJ's Take on Week 1
Week 1 stats leaders
Prime Time Players
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