ATLANTA — A dizzying regular season for the Atlanta Falcons just had to end like that, didn’t it? A long Jerious Norwood touchdown run, a defensive stop, a delirious crowd, a last-second field goal to determine the division crown in New Orleans. And it all happened in about a 10-minute span.

“When we were in Victory formation, we thought the Saints had beaten Carolina,” Atlanta left tackle Todd Weiner said, so he and his teammates spoke excitedly about being the division champions. “It wasn’t until I was walking back in the locker room that I heard Carolina kicked that last-minute field goal.”

We were asking too much for Carolina’s John Kasay to miss that field goal and make the Falcons, 31-27 winners over St. Louis on Sunday, division champions. The story of Atlanta’s season already seems a bit too good for words. Name me a more inspirational team in professional sports this year. A more improbable run.

Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated picked Atlanta to finish 2-14 this year. Three writers for NFL.com predicted 3-13 finishes. “Wait ’till next year ... or the year after ... or the year after ...” one writer cracked.

Instead, the Falcons finished 11-5 and will play Arizona in the playoffs next weekend. And that shouldn’t indict these prognosticators for missing so badly. Heck, almost everyone thought the Falcons would be miserable to watch this year. How did this happen?

After some thought, I determined the most amazing part of Atlanta’s season. There are, of course, so many options. You’ve got Matt Ryan’s incredible rookie season, John Abraham’s resurgence and the running duo of Norwood and Michael Turner. But this gets me the most: 17 sacks allowed with a rookie quarterback. Seventeen. Last year, the Falcons gave up an astonishing 47 sacks.

And Atlanta’s offensive linemen, some of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, did it by being total jerks on the field. I mean that in a good way. They hit defenders who are nowhere close to the ball. They knock back people until the very last vibration from the referee’s whistle echoes off the Georgia Dome. It’s an attitude instilled by new offensive line coach Paul Boudreau.

The Falcons play that way because they love what they do. And they love what they do because playing football is fun again in Atlanta with Bobby Petrino and all of Michael Vick’s distractions long gone.

Here’s how shocking the 17 sacks allowed are: The Falcons believed they could make the playoffs but never even imagined giving up just 17 sacks.

“No doubt, man,” Atlanta center Todd McClure said, who also credits Ryan for releasing the ball so quickly. “I think it’s the way we play. Those guys on defense have their head on a swivel to see where we’re coming from. That means they’re taking their eyes off of our receivers and running backs. Those extra hits we give them, they add up. They’re looking for it. They know what type of game they’re going to get when they play us. And we’re ready to bring it.”

And, added Turner, “the offensive line was the hardest working group in the offseason.”

The Falcons certainly wore down the Rams on Sunday. Atlanta rushed for 139 yards in the fourth quarter alone, including Norwood’s game-winning 45-yard touchdown scamper with 3:41 remaining. The defense stopped St. Louis on downs at the Falcons’ 37-yard line. One minute later, Kasay drilled that field goal in New Orleans to give Carolina the division championship.

The Falcons admitted feeling, for a moment, like a losing team when word spread about Kasay’s field goal. Think about that: The Falcons finished an 11-5 regular season and left the field feeling a bit down.

That emotion soon faded because, well, the Falcons — the NFL’s most depressing team last year — are still going to the playoffs. And they’re talking Super Bowl. To borrow from coach Mike Smith’s post-game speech to his team, why not the Falcons in the Super Bowl? No one else in the NFC looks overly superior.

“When you’ve got a bunch of guys working hard that really like ach other, that play for each other, I think you have a chance,” Weiner said. “The talent is so close in the NFL, there has to be something different about a team to make it. Every playoff team I’ve ever been on, there’s been a closeness. This is the tightest locker room I’ve ever been part of.

“I like our chances.”

E-mail Darren Epps at depps@timesfreepress.com

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