"It was looking rather bleak for the Atlanta Falcons. Again.

They hadn't moved the ball all day against the league's top rated defense and, on a cold and wintery day, were down to their last opportunity in a season gone wrong..

Then suddenly, it was 2008 again. Dodging snow balls thrown from the stands, quarterback Matt Ryan rallied the offense in the final minutes to pull out a thrilling 10-7 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday at Giants Stadium.

Ryan, sidelined the last two games due to a turf toe injury, found tight end Tony Gonzalez in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown with 1:38 left to play, the kind of play Ryan and the Falcons lived by last season.

The reminiscence was as short as it was bittersweet. The Falcons had been eliminated from the playoffs with Dallas' Saturday night win over the New Orleans Saints but besides pride, the team still wanted a shot to end the franchise's string of never having posted back-to-back winning seasons.

The Falcons improved to 7-7 and need to beat Buffalo (5-9) and Tampa Bay (2-12) to finish 9-7 and end the inglorious 44-year streak.

"No matter what the circumstances are, what our situation is as far as the postseason, all of that," right tackle Tyson Clabo said, "we are going to show up and we're going to fight. I expect us to do that for the next two weeks. You are going to get our best shot."

The Jets' out-gained the Falcons, 314-238, but couldn't put them away. They had their opportunities. But they bungled three field goal attempts and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions.

The nine points lost on field goals came in every variety. The Jets bobbled a snap on a field goal attempt with 6:40 left in the second quarter. Jay Feely missed a 38-yarder as time expired in the first half. Most critically, Feely's 37-yard fourth-quarter attempt was blocked by defensive end Chauncey Davis."