Falcons Shut Out Patriots : Interconference: Sanders intercepts two passes as Atlanta defeats New England, 34-0.

The Atlanta Falcons, embarrassed on defense by Buffalo the previous week, got all their confidence back Sunday.

The Falcons posted their first shutout since 1988 with a 34-0 victory over the New England Patriots.

Beaten by 27 or more points three times in their previous five games, including a 41-14 loss to Buffalo on Nov. 22, the Falcons were happy to be on the winning end of a rout.

“We knew we couldn’t talk a big game, we had to go out and prove this defense could still play,” Falcon defensive end Mike Gann said. “We proved that.”

It was the first shutout by the Falcons (5-7) since beating Green Bay, 20-0, on Nov. 6, 1988, covering a span of 65 regular-season and two playoff games.

Deion Sanders intercepted two passes for the Falcons, who recovered two fumbles and had five sacks.

“I compare what we did today to sort of like bowling,” said Patriot quarterback Scott Zolak, who completed nine of 15 passes for 58 yards, but had 43 of those yards erased because of sacks. “We came up to the lane, but we kept throwing gutter balls all day. They took a beating last week and they came back mad.”

Falcon quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver passed for 107 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters. Rookie Tony Smith gained 81 yards in 10 carries, including a 29-yard touchdown run during the third quarter.

The Falcons held the Patriots (2-10) to 105 yards, 90 coming on the ground.

The Falcons set the tone on New England’s first possession when Darion Conner and Tim Green sacked Zolak for an eight-yard loss.

The Falcons needed eight plays to cover 78 yards and take a 7-0 lead on Steve Broussard’s eight-yard run with 7:41 left in the first quarter.

Tolliver’s 26-yard pass to Drew Hill and a 32-yard interference penalty on David Pool ate up most of the yardage.

Tolliver’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Hill made it 14-0 with one minute left in the first quarter. The Falcons increased the lead to 24-0 at halftime on a 18-yard pass play from Tolliver to Broussard and a 26-yard field goal by Norm Johnson.

The scoring pass to Broussard came three plays after Conner forced Zolak to fumble on a sack, with Gann recovering for the Falcons on the New England 18.

Smith’s 29-yard run accounted for the only scoring in the third quarter. Johnson matched his longest field goal as a Falcon with a 54-yarder less than five minutes into the final quarter.

Jon Vaughn’s 22-yard run and Zolak’s 16-yard pass to Greg McMurtry highlighted a Patriot drive that reached the Atlanta 31 during the first half. Charlie Baumann’s 49-yard field-goal attempt was wide right.