Falcons are Giants' wild-card opponent
John Abraham, left, and Jonathan Babineaux of the Atlanta Falcons celebrate after Abraham's sack and fumble recovery against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. (Jan. 1, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
The Falcons were the top seed in the NFC playoffs a year ago, but that didn't work out for them as they lost their opener to the Packers. This year, they're trying to make it to the Super Bowl by tracing the same steps those Packers took last year: as a wild card. Their first step will be playing the Giants at MetLife Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The two teams have met 20 times and have split those games. The Giants have won the last three meetings, including a 34-31 overtime win at Giants Stadium in 2009. They have never met in the postseason.
The Falcons and Lions finished with 10-6 records. Atlanta won the No. 5 seed by virtue of its head-to-head win over the Lions, 23-16, on Oct. 23.
The Falcons finished the season 6-2 at home and 4-4 on the road. They started the season with three straight losses but looked nearly unstoppable Sunday as they smoked the Bucs, 45-24.
The Falcons' offense is led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who has thrown for 4,177 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also was sacked 26 times. Roddy White is his top receiver with 100 receptions for 1,296 yards and eight touchdowns. Ryan also has future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, who caught 80 passes for 875 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
