Detroit Lions cornerback Corey Raymond (31), pushes Atlanta Falcons running back Jamal Anderson (32) out of bounds during the first quarter at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., Sunday.AP Photo/Tom Pidgeon

Web posted September 1, 1997

By Tony Fabrizio
Morris News Service

PONTIAC, Mich. - Speaking to no one in particular as he walked past reporters and disappeared into a quiet lockerroom, linebacker Cornelius Bennett offered a summation of the Atlanta Falcons' performance in coach Dan Reeves' regular-season debut Sunday.

``Same ol' (bleep),'' Bennett muttered.

Actually, no.

The Falcons' 28-17 loss to the Detroit Lions at the Silverdome bore little resemblance to the typical defeat of the run-and-shoot era.

Atlanta played stellar defense, holding Barry Sanders to 33 yards on 15 carries, taking the ball away three times, and allowing only two touchdowns on passes from Scott Mitchell to Herman Moore. But the Falcons' offense, formerly the team's more reliable unit, was smothered at the point of attack and gave away the game with four Chris Chandler turnovers, including two that were returned for touchdowns.

``I'm not so disappointed that we lost, but I'm disappointed in how we lost,'' Reeves said. ``We really thought coming in here we would do well on offense. I thought we would be able to run the football and not get into situations where we have to pass. But we didn't execute on first down, whether it was a run or pass.''

Bobby Ross, the former Georgia Tech coach, had a successful, albeit ugly debut, as the Lions coach.

``Obviously, we struggled the whole day offensively,'' Ross said. ``But we hung in there, and that's what we have to do all year.''

Chandler, who set an NFL record by starting for his sixth team, completed 20 of 36 passes for 290 yards. But he threw three interceptions in the final six minutes after the Falcons took a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, and he also had a fumbled snap, which middle linebacker Stephen Boyd returned 42 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

In Chandler's defense, he never had a chance. His offensive line opened few holes for a running game that managed only 55 yards - 33 by Jamal Anderson on 20 carries - and the Detroit pass rush was suffocating.

``We couldn't run, and that set up a lot of second- and third-and-longs,'' said Chandler, who was sacked four times and knocked to his back on several more occasions. ``It's just hard to sustain drives when you aren't executing on first down.''

The Falcons led 17-14 with six minutes left and wanted to run out the clock, but the defense wouldn't allow it. On second and 15 from the Atlanta 17, Chandler was hit by Robert Porcher as he threw to Bert Emanuel on a short route, and Boyd intercepted at the 25.

Two plays later, Mitchell threw a fade to Moore, who beat cornerback Ray Buchanan for the go-ahead touchdown.

``I don't get beat often, and when I do, it's by one of the best,'' said Buchanan, a free agent acquisition who had a solid debut.

With his team trailing 21-17, Chandler then threw a pass directly to linebacker Reggie Brown, who waltzed into the end zone from 38 yards to make it 28-17 with 3:57 remaining.

The quarterback's third interception came on a desperation pass to Michael Haynes, who lost a battle for the ball with Greg Jeffries.

Atlanta's defense, which ranked 29th in the NFL last year, kept the Falcons in the game until the end. Sanders, the NFL's rushing champion three times in the '90s, was held to 12 yards on 10 carries in the first half, and he had only one carry in the game for more than 10 yards.

``We've kind of been a maligned defense in the past,'' said defensive end Les Archambeau, who forced two fumbles and recovered one. ``Everybody says Atlanta's got an offense that moves the ball and a defense that loses for them. We made a point this year in camp to say we're going to be a different defense. We tried to make a statement like that today.''

Morten Andersen gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead with 9:45 left in the first quarter after Archambeau stopped a Detroit drive by stealing a handoff to Sanders, and then Chandler hit Bert Emanuel on a 56-yard bomb.

Detroit came back with a 43-yard pass from Mitchell to Moore, who posted up Ronnie Bradford at about the 17-yard line, then turned and ran untouched for the score.

The Falcons answered with a 24-yard scoring pass from Chandler to Haynes after Bradford blocked a John Jett punt. Atlanta led 10-7.

But the Lions pulled back ahead before halftime on Boyd's fumble return, which came on the second fumbled exchange between Chandler and center Roman Fortin.

``It seemed like with the first one (which Atlanta recovered), the snap came up late,'' Chandler said. ``But the second one hit me right in the hands, and I just dropped it. That's the one that cost us a touchdown, and it was my fault. I was just trying to get the ball to Jamal quick on the blitz and I pulled out too fast.''

Anderson's 1-yard run with 9:57 left in the game gave the Falcons a 17-14 lead. Chandler took Atlanta 91 yards on nine plays.

``A lot of the things we did wrong are correctable,'' Reeves said. ``We'll go back and work on the things we need to work on.''