I made the horrible decision to actually leave my house to run some errands with the Atlanta Falcons leading the Seattle Seahawks 20-0 at the half. Following a ridiculous two-game set on Saturday that kept us all intrigued, I figured we were set for a let down on Sunday. 

On another note, some drivers pretty much had me pegged as a crazy dude while I was on the side of the road screaming at my Iphone listening to the end of this game.  

While the Falcons did blow a 20-point lead and nearly choked on the biggest stage the franchise has seen in more than a decade, something funny happened. Matt Ryan took over and led it to a game-winning field goal in a drive that started with just over 30 seconds remaining in regulation and down by one. 

In the process, Ryan literally took the monkey off his shoulder and chased it out of the Georgia Dome into oncoming traffic. It was really something to behold after the Pro Bowl quarterback had been much maligned for not being able to win the big one. It was that one moment in time when his entire career was defined by a single game-winning drive that echoed through the world of football. 

Atlanta did yield nearly 300 yards in the second half against Russell Wilson and company and must now go up against a San Francisco 49ers team that gained nearly 600 yards against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. 

But that is a conversation for another time. 

For now, Atlanta can celebrate this dramatic win and realize that it has finally gotten that much-needed win in order to quiet critics. It's now up to them to maintain a high level of play and hold court in Atlanta next week.