Falcons Get Back to Being Down and Dirty

In their final game of the season, the Atlanta Falcons finally put it all together.

Chris Chandler returned from being benched to throw two touchdown passes, and Morten Andersen kicked five field goals Sunday as the Falcons dominated the Kansas City Chiefs, 29-13.

In ending a losing streak at six games, Atlanta (4-12) held the Chiefs to 259 yards and sacked Elvis Grbac four times.

“We wanted to go into the off-season on a positive note,” said Jamal Anderson, who rushed for 107 yards and finished with 1,024 for the season. “Everyone has been disappointed about the way things have gone this season, but we wanted to get back to the way we used to play football.”

Like the way they did two seasons ago, when the Falcons reached the Super Bowl for the first time. Since then, Atlanta is 9-23.

“It was not a good season. I didn’t enjoy it,” said Falcon Coach Dan Reeves, who plans to return next season. “But it can help. We learned a lot about ourselves.”

Marty Carter helped assure Atlanta of its first victory in almost two months by blindsiding Grbac on a blitz, forcing a fumble that Darrick Vaughn recovered at the Kansas City eight-yard line with 7:45 remaining.

Chandler followed with a six-yard touchdown pass to Brian Kozlowski for a 26-7 lead.

Chandler was demoted to third team after a 41-14 loss to Oakland on Nov. 26. But he handled the demotion well and was back in the lineup for the finale, completing 20 of 29 passes for 163 yards.

“I was able to come out feeling fresh physically, and I was definitely feeling better mentally,” he said. “When you’re on the bench, you’re able to sit back and watch the different aspects of the game. You also realize how important this game is to you.”

The lone bright spot for Kansas City (7-9) was Tony Gonzalez, who became the third tight end in NFL history to have 90 receptions in a season when he caught a 21-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter.

Gonzalez joined Ben Coates and Todd Christensen as the only tight ends with 90 receptions in a season. Coates had 96 with New England in 1994, Christensen had 95 for the Raiders in 1986, and Gonzalez finished with 93.