Atlanta Holds Off Detroit

What looked like a waltz after Alton Montgomery’s 71-yard interception return helped Atlanta build a 27-0 lead, turned scary before Jessie Tuggle’s interception on the goal line with 1:37 remaining helped the Falcons secure a 34-22 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

“We were clicking on offense,” Jeff George said after passing for 302 yards and one touchdown. “We were concerned about the Detroit pass rush. We knew they were going to come hard on the pass rush. We put in a few new plays. I think a few players were kind of shocked by them.”

The Falcons (6-3) kept the Detroit defense off balance with a combination of screen passes and draws, enabling Atlanta to build a 34-7 lead before Scott Mitchell led a comeback that fell short.

Mitchell threw for two scores and ran for another, but was never able to overcome the big deficit as Detroit’s six-game winning streak in the series ended.

“We dug ourselves a hole and never could get out,” Lion coach Wayne Fontes said. “This team did not play very well today and they did.”

The Lions (3-6) remained winless on the road this season, dropping their fifth.

“It’s the same thing every road game,” Herman Moore said. “We lose. We come out and don’t play 60 minutes of football. There is that window when we don’t play well, when the other team takes advantage of it.”

It appeared as if the Lions might get back in this one until the Tuggle interception.

Mitchell had completed a 28-yard pass to Moore on a fourth and 10 at the start of the drive that reached the Atlanta one, where Barry Sanders was dropped for a three-yard loss by Darryl Talley two plays before Tuggle’s interception.

“They had been running crossing routes in front of me all game,” Tuggle said. “I saw the crossing route, then I saw the ball coming toward me a little bit low. I reached up and the ball fell into my hands.”

The 6-3 start is Atlanta’s best since 1980.