2022-23 NFC WILD CARD GAME San Francisco 49ers (4-3) vs Atlanta Falcons (5-2)

[Long island EFL]

                 San Francisco 49ers (4-3) vs. Atlanta Falcons (5-2)   

                                                LIEFLNFC WILD CARD GAME JANUARY 6, 2023 6PM

(Long Island NY, January 6, 2023). Atlanta Falcons Coach Johnny-Freeport Chucker has been the talk of the LIEFL for some time. He never backs down from a challenge, and he is always ready for battle, but sometimes the hard-headed coach lets his talk get in the way of his game. Today he faces his nemesis, Coach Ed Viggs who you can bet has some great master plan when it comes to his 49ers. Chucker's Falcons need to bring their best game in this 2023 LIEFL NFC Wild Card Game.

The last time these two coaches played a big game was when Chucker's Ravens beat the defending LIEFL Super Bowl XVI Champion Green Bay Packers in LIEFL Week #4 on December 6, by a score of 17-14. This game is bigger and we can't ignore what Chucker's main guy LIEFL All-Pro Gerald Riggs has accomplished for the Dirty Birds. In the last five seasons Riggs has amassed more than 5,000 yards and more than 30 touchdowns for Atlanta. He has celebrated too many awards to list, but Coach Viggs doesn't care about that, he cares about titles. Viggs looks at playoff loses and coaching. All three times the Falcons have made it to the playoffs in this league they bowed out in the first round. 

YEAR	TEAM	W	L	Post Season	W	L	DIVISION FINISH
1977-78	Atlanta	7	7		0	0	3rd AFC Conference II
1978-79	Atlanta	4	10		0	0	4th NFC Western Division
1980-81	Atlanta	6	8		0	0	2nd NFC Western Division
1982-83	Atlanta	7	7		0	0	2nd NFC Western Division
1983-84	Atlanta	4	10		0	0	Last NFC Western Division
1991-92	Atlanta	7	7		0	1	3rd NFC Western Division, NFC DG lost to Washington 13-10.
1995	Atlanta	5	9		0	0	Last NFC Western Division
2000	Atlanta	8	6		0	1	1st NFC Western Division, NFC WCG lost to Dallas 56-52.
2008	Atlanta	3	4		0	0	Last in NFC South Division
2016	Atlanta	3	4				Tied for 2nd NFC South Division with three teams (3-4)
2017	Atlanta	4	3		0	1	1st Place NFC South Division Champions LOST in NFC DG to Minnesota 24-17
2018	Atlanta	4	3		0	0	3rd Place South Division NFC
2019	Atlanta	3	4				3rd Place South Division NFC
2020	Atlanta	3	4		0	0	TIED FOR 2ND NFC South Division
2021-22	Atlanta PANDEMIC SEASON CANCELLED	0	0		0	0
2022-23	Atlanta	5	2				2nd Place NFC South Division NFC WCG
TOTALS		74	88		0	3	CAREER RECORD:  69-89 1/3/23

 

We already witnessed Miami beat Cleveland 38-34 in a great game, and now Coach Viggs, who by the way, has all four of his teams who qualified to be in the tournament, has his eye set on undoing the success that Chucker has built with his Falcons.

        

The opening kickoff was felt as Falcons LIEFL All-Pro running back Gerald Riggs returned a strong 41 strong yarder. Riggs was hit hard by 49ers running back Ricky Watters. The BIG BOYS offensive front for Atlanta led by LIEFL All-Pro Bill Fralic, Adrian Clayborn, and Claude Humphrey came to play pushing the 49ers around on the first two plays of the game, but they were able to stop Atlanta on the following two plays, forcing a third down pass situation which unleashed Falcons receiver Julio Jones  into the end zone on a broken coverage by the 49ers defense, sending Jones flying 40-yards for the touchdown for the "Dirty Birds". Coach Johnny Freeport-Chucker's Atlanta Falcons strike first 7-0, with 6:51 to go in the first quarter. Chucker went wild!

On the 49ers first kickoff Jerry Rice ran back an impressive speedy run to the 49ers own 42-yard line. On the first set of downs for San Francisco, they could not run the ball in the first two plays. On third down, coach Ed Viggs threw a rocket to Jerry Rice who exploded for a 63-yard play, taking the 49ers to the Atlanta 10-yard line, ending the first quarter.

 

At the start of the second quarter Atlanta again stopped the 49ers running attack, forcing a third down. Coach Viggs set up a pass play. Dwight Clark at tight end broke free at the 17-yard line to make a great play for a touchdown to tie the game 7-7, with 13:20 left to go in the half. Coach Viggs and his 49ers settled in and made their adjustments at the right time, and it balanced the game.

 

This game turned into a brutal defensive play game and the battle in the trenches began as the two teams felt each other out. Coach Viggs and Chucker did some fast thinking in moving player matchups around. The Falcons started to move the ball. On the first two downs of the series, the 49ers pushed back Riggs after two runs of 18 and 7 yards. But on third down, the other Falcons running back Jamal Anderson caught a great pass by Chucker on the left side of the field and Anderson Boogied 43-yards into the end zone to give the Atlanta the edge 14-7, with 5:44 remaining in the half! What a play!

Jerry Rice brought back a 42-yard kick return and on the Atlanta's first play from scrimmage Ricky Watters who blazed 42-yards downfield to Atlanta's 13-yard line with 3:12 left in the game and the 49ers called a timeout. 

 

As the two-minute warning sounded, San Francisco let the Falcons know it was going to be a battle, backing Atlanta up to the 16-yard line on second down with the score 14-7, Falcons in the lead. On the next play Ricky Watters broke free from the left side of the field and caught a great touchdown play for a 17-yard San Francisco 49ers touchdown to tie the game at 14-14, with 1:40 remaining in the half. Atlanta called their first time out. In the LIEFL a team is allowed two timeouts per half in the playoffs and Super Bowl in a 60-minute game.

 

On the Falcons return kickoff 49ers defensive end Charles Haley came out of nowhere to destroy Gerald Riggs at the 30 yard line making an incredible tackle! Atlanta was forced to take their last time out of the half at the 30 yard line. What a game! Coach Johnny-Freeport Chucker did not look happy with his better team's performance, but Coach Viggs game plan was succeeding. Chucker was forced to pass and the San Francisco defensive line of Haley, Fred Dean, and Randy Cross were set in the battle of the trenches in the Long Island Electric Football League, which set up the most argued and controversial play of the game.

 

Chucker connected with an open Jamaal Anderson with time running out, but right beside him was 49ers tackle Harris Barton who ran stride for stride with Anderson at the 38 yard line with 52 seconds left in the half. This play would have given Atlanta a comfortable lead going into the second half. The game came to a stop at that spot to determine if the tackle had been made by Barton. This game stoppage and argument went back and forth for at least 20 minutes until we thought the best thing to do was take photos and send to our rules Commissioner and former high school football legendary coach in Albany, New York, Pete Porcelli to determine whether or not Barton had made the tackle. It removed the coaches from being involved in the decision.

The play would take the Falcons from the 30 yard line to the 49ers 38-yard line with an open field in front of Anderson to possibly score a touchdown. That's a big deal. We have real people making real decisions.

After sending the pictures to Porcelli, a former professional Arena player in Albany, Porcelli made the determination that the tackle was made by Harris Barton because he was tilted in towards the runner Anderson (AS YOU CAN MAKE THAT CALL BY LOOKING AT THE PHOTOS).

The clock would then continue at that spot, with 52 seconds left in the half with the score tied at 14-14. Chucker wasn't finished arguing. He contended that a side-by-side run is not a tackle in the LIEFL. He kept arguing with Porcelli for at least ten minutes. It's amazing what cell phones and texts can do today versus the seventies. In what could have been a very costly decision for Chucker, his Falcons time ran out in the half, and Anderson's possible touchdown was denied, so Atlanta was forced to kick a 42-yard field goal with no timeouts left to give the Falcons the lead over the 49ers 17-14, going into the third quarter!

 

THIRD QUARTER:

 

The second half opened with intensity from both coaches. Coach Viggs wasn't backing down and would not be intimidated by the Falcons or Chucker. His 49ers played better than they have all season long. They ended the regular season with a huge upset victory over the Los Angeles Rams 24-21 in overtime. The 49ers stormed 58 yards down field on a Jerry Rice kick return. On San Francisco's first possession Ricky Watters scampered for a 17-yard first down on a beautiful run, and then he was stopped for three yards. Coach Viggs decided to go airborne striking 49ers tight end Dwight Clark with a great pass. Clark broke free but was mauled at the 15-yard line, enough to give the 49ers the first down with 8:09 left to go and the third quarter. Falcons defensive tackle Mike Kenn made a huge hit on Clark. The 49ers got the ball back on 1st down when running back Ricky Watters exploded for a 15-yard touchdown run to give San Francisco the lead 21-17! Chucker received an unsportsmanlike 10-yard penalty for knocking Ricky Watters over after the play, and here we go with the trash talking! 

 

Nobody wants a game to turn ugly. This is what happens in big games, we are sure in your leagues too. With their backs against the wall the Falcons did not give up. Gerald Riggs returned a 59-yard kick return. From there his front line opened a beautiful seem for Riggs who had a 22-yard run bringing the ball to the 19-yard line of the 49ers. One play later Riggs was in the end zone on a beautiful split open run by the front line of the Falcons with Atlanta taking back the lead 24-21, with 2:21 left to go in the third quarter!

 

 In one of the most exciting plays of the game Jerry Rice returned an electrifying 90 yard kick return only to be tackled by LIEFL All-Pro Bill Fralic at the Falcons 10-yard line as the two minute warning sounded. What a game! What a play! That Coach Viggs is something else. Viggs used his reliable back Ricky Watters to run in for the 10-yard touchdown untouched around the right side of the field. What a great setup, 28-24, the 49ers back in the lead with 1:46 remaining in the third quarter!

 

The Freeport Chucker was fuming! On the Atlanta kick return, Gerald Riggs exploded 46-yards but he was hit hard by 49ers safety Ronnie Lott as the third quarter came to a close with the 49ers up 28-24!

Once the action rebooted, the Falcons grinded the clock, which was a great strategy because Riggs carried the ball five consecutive times with runs of 8, 7, 10, 0, and he finished with an 8-yard run for a first down with 6:04 remaining in the game at the 49ers 22-yard line with Atlanta driving.

 

On the next run Riggs ran for a 12-yard first down to bring the ball to the 49ers 10-yard line, with the clock still ticking. Riggs moved the football trying to manage the timeclock. And on the next play Riggs ran for another four yards, bringing the ball to the 49ers six-yard line with 2:57 remaining in the game. The "Cardiac Kid" Coach Viggs,  is going to play a high-anxiety game  by not calling the timeout.  Viggs let that clock tick until they reached the final two-minute warning of the game, which rose the stakes. It put a lot of pressure on both of these teams only adding to the anxiety.

 

When play resumed, on the next run Gerald Riggs ran in from six yards out to score the touchdown 31-28 Atlanta, with the clock running! Wow!

 

After a 54-yard kick return by Jerry Rice the 49ers called a timeout with one timeout remaining for San Francisco. The pressure was building with Coach Viggs 54-yards from upsetting the Atlanta Falcons in one of the most intense games of the year. The game was on the line and Viggs had to get to the point where the 49ers could get a chance to play in overtime should they run out of time in regulation. Coach Viggs, the master of preparation played his game correctly, and after calling his final timeout, the Falcons stopped the 49ers passing attack,  forcing a 49ers field goal from 50 yards away to tie the game 31-31!

 

The game went into overtime! OMG! The 49ers win the overtime coin toss!!! Viggs pumped his fist and Chucker, well, Chucker had nothing to say.  

 

After a 3-minute intermission with Coach Chucker now showing his emotion for losing the coin toss, the teams set up for the kickoff.  Jerry Rice has been a thorn in the Falcons side the entire game. Rice returned an amazing 60-yard scamp to the Atlanta 40-yard line. One play later Roger Craig caught a Viggs pass for 30-yards which brought the ball to the 10-yard line of Atlanta. Holy Cow! It was Ricky Watters who ran to the right side and cut through the middle of the field scoring the game-winning touchdown to win an incredible game in overtime 37-31, the San Francisco 49ers (5-3) upset the Atlanta Falcons (5-3) in an electrifying finish! That's two great Wild Card Games so far with Miami beating Cleveland and San Francisco beating Atlanta!

 

The coaches shook hands and Coach Chucker said, "Never count Viggy out of a game. What can I say he mastered the game. If you want to play the best you have to beat the best. The Chucker (14-15), left his men sitting on the field and just left in his usual fashion." Coach Viggs (19-10) said, "It's always great to beat Chucker. He's great for the league, he's intense, his teams come ready to play, and today was the 49ers day. I have a big decision to make because now my Niners play my Packers. I am going to play with my Packers and I am not sure who will play with the 49ers. I have to focus on my Redskins now who are playing the Giants for the third time this season. I have to figure out why I lost two times Coach Pizz by the same team."

 

The 49ers advance to play the LIEFL Super Bowl XVI defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Atlanta's Gerald Riggs finished the game with 21 touches for 319 all-purpose yards with two touchdowns. He had 17 of those carries as rushes rushing for 132 yards. San Francisco's Jerry Rice had 6 touches for 292 kick return yards and a 63 yard pass reception totaling 355 yards in the game without a touchdown. Ricky Watters rushed 11 times for 98 yards with three touchdowns! 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Long island EFL
INFO ADDED