San Francisco at Atlanta


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ATLANTA -- In a season dominated by controversial calls, another disputed play nearly changed the course of Saturday's divisional playoff between the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers.

	Dan Reeves points to a replay on the scoreboard in protest of the crucial call in the second quarter Saturday.

As it turned out, the second-quarter call in favor of the 49ers turned out to be a footnote when the Falcons hung on for a 20-18 victory. It also demonstrated instant replay is not a failsafe remedy for blown calls.

The 49ers were trailing 14-0 late in the first half when Steve Young threw a lateral pass to Terry Kirby, who was planning to throw a pass downfield. In a Dec. 6 victory at Carolina, the San Francisco running back had a 28-yard touchdown pas to Terrell Owens.

But Kirby dropped Young's lateral, setting off a frenzied scramble on the turf with Atlanta's Henri Crockett at the San Francisco 45. The ball squirted into the air after both players converged, right into the arms of Falcons defensive end Chuck Smith.

He ran untouched to the end zone for an apparent 48-yard fumble return, which would have given the Falcons a commanding 21-0 lead. But the officials, who apparently never blew a whistle, huddled for several minutes and decided Kirby briefly had possession of the ball while his knee was down and touching Crockett.

The call was made from the far side of the field by line judge Ron Baynes and seemed to turn the momentum to the 49ers. They cut the deficit to 14-10 by halftime, but the Falcons held on to the lead in the second half.

"It was a backward pass, and San Francisco recovered it," referee Jerry Markbreit said. "Terry Kirby, when he was down on the field, he was touched and ruled down by contact."

	CUTTING UP THE RUG
	This season, the Falcons are perfect when they're playing on artificial turf:
	Indoors 12 games		Outdoors 5 games
	Record (1996-97)	12-0	3-2
	Rush yds.	141.4*	108.0
	Rush yds. allowed	65.6	92.4
	TO margin	+23	-1
	*Jamal Anderson is averaging 124 yards on turf this season.

Television replays were inconclusive. From some angles, Kirby appeared to have the ball for a split second while grappling with Crockett; in others, the 49ers back never seemed to gain control.

"It was a lateral, a backward pass," San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci said. "It was on the ground. I thought he (Kirby) recovered it, and it should have been blown down. I thought he made the right call."

The Falcons complained vehemently about the call, and the crowd booed loudly when a replay was shown on the scoreboard.

"I thought it was clearly our ball," coach Dan Reeves said. "I didn't see any way they would end up with the ball. At worst, it should have been our ball. I still don't understand it when I look at the replay."

Oh, baby!
Terance Mathis wasn't expecting his wife to deliver their first child for another 10 days. But late Friday night, he realized she couldn't wait any longer.

"I was in the process of cutting my hair," said the clean-shaven Mathis, "and I saw her fall to her knees crying. I knew it was time, so I called the midwife."

Mathis accompanied his wife, Arnedia, to Northside Hospital, where she delivered a daughter at 6 a.m. Terae Paula Mathis weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces.

Mathis managed to get about two hours of sleep before the game, in which he led the Falcons with five receptions for 71 yards.

"I am exhausted," he said.

Out of miracles
Last week, Steve Young directed a 76-yard touchdown drive to beat Green Bay 30-27 in an NFC wild-card game.

But the 49ers had too many yards and too little time to pull off a similar comeback against the Falcons.

Young, who threw a 25-yard game touchdown pass to Terrell Owens with three seconds remaining against the Packers, started the final drive against the Falcons from the San Francisco 4 with 38 seconds remaining. R.W. McQuarters fielded a punt at the 11, tries to reverse his field and wound up being tackled for a 7-yard loss on the return.

"I would have loved to get the ball back at the 20 instead of the 4," Young said. "But for a couple of a plays, we could have had another miracle finish."

Extra points
The Falcons have won all nine of their games at the Georgia Dome this season. ... Atlanta did not allow a rushing first down until six minutes remained. ... Jamal Anderson topped the 100-yard mark in rushing for the 12th time this year. ... The crowd of 70,262 was the largest in Falcons history. ... Jerry Rice, who was playing with a partially torn ligament in his right knee, set an NFL record with a catch in his 23rd straight postseason game. Rice, who finished with three receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown, had been tied with Drew Pearson.