.500 Falcons in first place after 'wild' OT victory

ATLANTA -- Rashaan Evans shook his head, astir inactive successful disbelief. In immoderate ways, helium inactive was successful disbelief.

The Atlanta Falcons linebacker has been playing shot for a agelong clip -- 5 years successful the NFL, 4 astatine Alabama and precocious schoolhouse earlier that. What happened Sunday, helium ne'er had experienced.

After a topsy-turvy crippled that saw six scores successful the past 4th and past overtime -- not to notation a captious missed other constituent and missed tract extremity -- successful an eventual 37-34 Falcons triumph implicit the Carolina Panthers, Evans said helium was physically and mentally drained. And successful archetypal spot successful the NFC South -- the lone squad (4-4) successful the part to beryllium astatine .500 oregon better.

"I'm going to slumber for similar 3 days," Evans said. "For real."

He volition slumber happy, though.

The Falcons seemingly had this crippled won and past mislaid and past won again. Twice.

In regulation, Atlanta held a six-point pb (34-28) aft a Younghoe Koo tract extremity with 36 seconds left. Carolina backmost PJ Walker past deed receiver DJ Moore with a 62-yard Hail Mary for a touchdown with 12 seconds near that appeared to springiness the Panthers the win. The shot traveled 67.6 yards successful the air, according to Next Gen Stats, the longest aerial region completion since it started tracking aerial yards successful 2016.

Both Evans and information Dean Marlowe were successful sum connected the play. Marlowe told ESPN aft the crippled helium was playing the sideline to support Moore inbounds due to the fact that Carolina had nary timeouts and 23 seconds erstwhile the play started. A tackle inbounds would person apt won the game.

Marlowe didn't spot Walker scramble and erstwhile helium saw him retired of the box, helium didn't deliberation the QB would propulsion the ball.

"Not a psyche successful my assemblage thought that helium would propulsion it," Marlowe said.

Marlowe added that helium didn't adjacent spot the shot successful the air. He was defending Moore and past saw the receiver look to get acceptable successful anticipation. Evans didn't spot Moore's touchdown drawback until helium heard the screams wrong Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He was facing the Panthers' seat and saw them moving astir successful solemnisation -- the archetypal level of disbelief successful a last information of a crippled afloat of them.

Moore had hardly beaten some of them -- helium had .8 yards of separation erstwhile helium caught the shot -- sending fans into a operation of daze and hysterics.

"I'm like, 'Did helium conscionable f---ing drawback this?'" helium said. "So I'm feeling successful my head, there's nary mode we conscionable mislaid this crippled similar that."

Then Moore removed his helmet, triggering an unsportsmanlike behaviour penalty. It was the archetypal specified punishment successful the past 2 minutes of a crippled this season, according to ESPN's Stats & Information research.

"It was a earthy reaction," Moore said. "Still, I cognize that I can't bash that."

It forced the Falcons into a decision: Push Carolina kicker Eddy Pineiro backmost 15 yards connected the other constituent effort oregon instrumentality the yardage connected the kickoff. Coach Arthur Smith and peculiar teams coordinator Marquice Williams concisely discussed the 2 strategies and opted for the former. And it worked.

Pineiro missed the 47-yard other constituent wide left, and the crippled went into OT.

"It was 1 of those decisions you get paid to make," Smith said.

In overtime, Falcons backmost Marcus Mariota was picked disconnected by CJ Henderson connected Atlanta's archetypal possession, and helium returned it 54 yards to the Atlanta 26. The Panthers got to the Atlanta 14, and Pineiro came retired to effort a 32-yard tract goal. Again, the Falcons thought they were successful trouble. Smith called a timeout to effort and frost the kicker.

"It's the lone happening you got near successful your pocket," Smith said. "You spell down with everything you've got. That's the lone analogy I tin give."

What Smith called "the past disposable tactic" worked. Pineiro pushed the effort wide left, giving the Falcons beingness again.

"I conscionable missed the kick," Pineiro said.

Atlanta past drove down the field, highlighted by a 30-yard tally by Mariota, who turned 29 connected Sunday, to acceptable up a 41-yard Koo tract extremity to triumph the game. Falcons players came streaming onto the tract surrounding their kicker, 1 of the highest-paid successful the NFL.

"Honestly, for me, it's sticking to what we bash each day," Koo said. "Sticking to the process. We enactment connected it each week. Every day."

It ended a wild, somewhat improbable crippled successful what has been a somewhat improbable play for the Falcons, who are successful archetypal spot contempt not being over-.500 astatine immoderate constituent this season. In fact, they haven't been implicit .500 astatine each since the extremity of the 2017 season.

The past clip the Falcons were successful archetypal spot successful the part this precocious successful the twelvemonth was 2016, the past twelvemonth the squad went to the Super Bowl. And it each came from a crippled truthful chaotic hardly immoderate Falcons had experienced thing similar it.

"That was crazy," Falcons information Richie Grant said. "I've ne'er been a portion of thing similar that. I'm conscionable blessed to beryllium connected the bully broadside of it."