Falcons' Fury Fries Fish

Dan Reeves made a surprise visit to the Atlanta Falcons locker room before Sunday's game against Miami, urging the Falcons to keep playing like champions heading into the playoffs.

They did.

With seemingly nothing to play for, the NFC West champions jumped to a 21-0 lead over the Dolphins just eight minutes into the game and cruised to a 38-16 victory, completing the best regular season in Falcons' history.

Reeves, recovering from heart bypass surgery, missed his second straight game, watching it on television from his home. But in a brief appearance at the Georgia Dome, he stressed to the Falcons (14-2) that it was important to go into playoffs on a roll.

"It was definitely a motivating factor for us," said Chris Chandler, who threw two touchdown passes before leaving with a strained back. "Dan reminded us that any time you're keeping score, the game means something."

Atlanta had already clinched its first division title since 1980, a first-round playoff bye and the No. 2 seed in the NFC behind Minnesota. Now, the Falcons go into the postseason with a nine-game winning streak, becoming only the sixth 14-victory team in the last decade.

Not bad for a team that was 3-13 just two seasons ago.

"We can go all the way," said tight end O.J. Santiago, who caught both of Chandler's TD passes.

The Dolphins (10-6), coming off a Monday night victory over Denver, needed another win to ensure a home game in the first round of the playoffs. But Miami played like a team that didn't care, losing four fumbles while Dan Marino was intercepted twice.

"They were ready to play and we were not," said coach Jimmy Johnson, seething afterwards. "I am embarrassed by the way we played in the first quarter."

The Dolphins still earned a home playoff game when New England lost to the Jets31-10. Miami will play host to Buffalo next weekend.

Jamal Anderson carried 18 times for 103 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown. He set an NFL record for most rushing attempts in a season, finishing with 410 to eclipse by three the mark set by Tampa Bay's James Wilder in 1984.

"That's one of those records you don't want to approach every year," said Anderson, who rushed for 1,846 bruising yards this season. "But I feel good."

Marino threw for 320 yards -- his third straight 300-yard game -- but it didn't matter. The Dolphins gave up a season high for points despite allowing an NFL-best 265 for the season.

Falcons defensive back Michael Booker was all over the Dolphins. (AP)

"It's nice to have a home game," Marino said, "but it would have been a whole lot nicer to have won today and go into the playoffs with momentum."

The Falcons scored on their first play from scrimmage when Chandler rolled out and hit a wide-open Santiago with a short pass in the flat. The tight end broke through two tacklers and rambled for a 62-yard touchdown.

On Atlanta's next possession, Chandler hooked up with Tony Martin on a 53-yard pass, setting up a 3-yard scoring toss to Santiago. After throwing the pass, Chandler was pulled down awkwardly by Kenny Mixon and hobbled off the field.

Chandler wasn't seriously injured, but watched the rest of the game from the sideline while 44-four-year-old Steve DeBerg and Tony Graziani finished up.

"It was kind of a precautionary thing," Chandler said. "We kept on scoring, which made the decision easy."

The Falcons made it 21-0 when Ronnie Bradford stepped in front of a pass from Marino, returning the interception 11 yards for a touchdown with seven minutes left in the first quarter.

Atlanta, which led 24- at halftime, blew it open with two more quick scores in the third period, scoring both times on the very next play after Miami fumbles.

Martin beat Terrell Buckley down the middle and hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from DeBerg to make it 31-6. Then Anderson bounced away from a pileup at the line and cruised for his 16th touchdown of the season, a team record.

At the end, the Falcons mascot held up a sign that said, "Miami Bound," a reference to the site of this year's Super Bowl, while "We Are The Champions" played over the loudspeaker.

Notes:

Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, second on the team with nine sacks, suffered a broken collarbone in the first quarter and is out for the season. ... The Falcons finished 8-0 at home for the first time. ... Atlanta scored 442 points this season, breaking the team record of 426 in 1981. ... O.J. McDuffie set a Miami record with 90 receptions. ... Atlanta set a team record with its sixth defensive TD. ... The Falcons de-activated defensive end Lester Archameau, who has been playing with a broken left thumb. ... Atlanta's quarterbacks completed only eight of 13 passes, but DeBerg moved past Jim Kelly into ninth on the NFL career list with 2,874 completions.

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