Mark WiedmerATLANTA – Four years an Atlanta Falcons tight end, Levine Toilolo, participated in his first playoff game Saturday evening in the Georgia Dome.
Said the Stanford grad of the thunder dome the place became long before the first snap of the football: “That’s the most energy I’ve ever felt in this place. It was amazing. Not like anything else I’ve seen here.”
That assessment made sense because it’s possible that never in this building’s 25-year run have Atlanta’s usually frustrated fans witnessed a Falcons team more deserving of this jet-engine level uproar than throughout Saturday’s 36-20 silencing of Seattle.
And it could easily have been worse, since Atlanta chose to run out the clock rather than score a final touchdown from Seattle’s 1-yard line on its final series.
“We feel like the only thing that can stop us is ourselves,” said Falcons offensive left tackle Jake Matthews. “It’s very evident the character of the guys on this team. Every guy puts the team first. Whatever happens next week, we’ll be ready.”