The Atlanta Falcons are a week away from taking the field for the 16th playoff game in franchise history. They are 6-9 in the previous 15 postseason games but have won three of four at home, which is nice since that's where they'll be playing against either the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints or Seattle Seahawks.Go Seahawks!
When the Falcons take the field next Saturday it will be almost 12 years to the day of their biggest win in their 45-year history. On Jan. 17, 1999 in the Metrodome the Falcons beat the 16-1 Minnesota Vikings, 30-27, in overtime to win the NFC championship and propel them to their first Super Bowl appearance.
That was their biggest win as a team but what was the most impressive performance by a player in Falcons playoff history? Using my friend and yours, fantasy football, I countdown the top five individual offensive performances in Falcons playoff history.
The points were extracted using the following scoring: 1 pt for 25 pass yards, 4 pts for pass TD, minus-2 pts for INT, 1 pt 10 rush/rec yards, 6 pts for rush/rec TD.
Number 5 - Chris Miller (23.4 points)
Game: Wild Card vs. Saints, 12/28/1991
Miller led the Falcons to a 27-20 victory over the Saints in the 1991 Wild Card round by throwing for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He twice gave the Falcons the lead with touchdown passes to Michael Haynes. The first, a 20-yard putting the Falcons up 17-13 and the second, a 61-yard game-winner that pushed Atlanta into the divisional playoffs.
Follow me after the jump for the rest of the countdown.
Number 4 - Jamal Anderson (24.3 points)
Game: Divisional Playoffs vs. 49ers, 1/9/1999
Anderson continued a monstrous regular season with the fourth-best performance on our countdown. He touched the ball 30 times for 123 yards and two first half touchdowns to give the Falcons a 20-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers. The win would advance the Falcons to the NFC Championship game.
Number 3 - Michael Haynes (26.4 points)
Game: Wild Card vs. Saints, 12/28/1991
Haynes checks in at No. 3 on the countdown but he owes a lot of it to the man at No. 5. Haynes had scored 11 touchdowns in the regular season and continued his dominant play right through the playoffs. He caught six passes for 144 yards, including a 61-yarder to win the game. Haynes was the epitome of big-play receiver and his 22.4 yards per catch during the 1991 season is still a Falcons record for players with at least 35 receptions.
Number 2 - Warrick Dunn (26.5 points)
Game: Divisional Playoffs vs. Rams, 1/15/2005
The Falcons rushed for 327 yards (fourth-most in NFL history) and Dunn led the way with 142 of them on only 17 carries. His whopping 8.4 yards per carry is sixth-best in playoff history among rushers with at least 17 carries and he scored two touchdowns. The first score was from 62 yards out and the second was a 19-yarder that gave the Falcons a 14-point lead and they never looked back.
Number 1 - Chris Chandler (27.1 points)
Game: NFC Championship vs. Vikings, 1/17/1999
In the biggest game of the Falcons franchise, Chandler delivered a dominating fantasy performance. He completed 27-of-43 for 340 yards and three touchdowns and even added 15 yards on the ground. He didn't throw an interception and completed passes to eight different receivers. The 340 passing yards is still the second-best total in Falcons playoff history and only one other Falcon (Milelr) has thrown three touchdowns in the postseason.
Does Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and Roddy White have what it takes to usurp some on this list? They'll get their chance Jan. 15 and hopefully another one the following week and perhaps a third chance on Feb. 6. Come on, I can be greedy.