Turner, Falcons get last laugh

ATLANTA --- A melee breaks out along the Falcons sideline, and who's right in the middle of it?

DeAngelo Hall, of course.

"I was pretty sure," said Atlanta receiver Roddy White, a former teammate, "that he had something to do with it."

What Hall desperately wanted to do Sunday was beat the Falcons. Michael Turner made sure that wouldn't happen with a season-high 166 yards rushing, including two touchdowns, as Atlanta snapped a two-game losing streak by beating Hall and the Washington Redskins 31-17.

Hall, who made two Pro Bowls playing for the Falcons from 2004-07, yapped away all week about how Atlanta treated him unfairly before a trade to Oakland. He didn't even make it through one season with the Raiders and landed in Washington.

Turner was just too much to handle in Hall's return to the Georgia Dome. He broke off a 30-yard touchdown run to help the Falcons (5-3) build a 24-3 halftime lead, then finished off Washington (2-6) with a 58-yard score early in the fourth quarter. Hall was the last guy to have a shot at the burly running back on that clinching TD, but the cornerback slid right off when he tried to make a tackle around the shoulder pads.

Hall was still jabbering away after the game.

He threatened to call commissioner Roger Goodell, accusing the Falcons of losing their cool -- coach Mike Smith included -- after LaRon Landry's late hit on Matt Ryan set off a near-brawl in the second quarter.

As flags flew, the outspoken cornerback jumped into the middle of things, surrounded by a horde of Atlanta players and an angry Smith. Hall was yanked away before any punches were thrown and insisted that he didn't do anything wrong.

"Guys just started coming at me," Hall said. "It wasn't any mind-set to break the fight up. It was in a mind-set to try to get some licks in. Even the head coach came over there. Mike Smith said some stuff, said some words to me, cussed me out. He was grabbing at me, pulling at me."

Smith refused to trade barbs with Hall, saying he was merely trying to break up the scuffle and didn't even know the former Falcons player was involved.

Ryan threw another interception, his eighth in the past four games, and was held to a season-low 135 yards passing. But Turner made up for it.

After a slow start to the season, the running back is getting back to where he wants to be -- something akin to the form that made him the league's second-leading rusher a year ago with 1,699 yards.

He followed up a 20-carry, 151-yard effort against New Orleans with an even better performance against the Redskins, who had one of the league's top-rated defenses.

"(The Falcons) ended up having a little bit of pride in what they were doing," embattled Redskins coach Jim Zorn said.