Week #1
Sunday, Sep.03, at Georgia Dome, 1:00 pm
Atlanta Falcons
vs
San Francisco 49ers
36
28
Atlanta Falcons Jamal Anderson (32) gets by San Francisco 49ers Jeff Posey, left, during the first quarter, in Atlanta, Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)
ATLANTA (Ticker) - Jamal Anderson and the Atlanta Falcons may be back. The San Francisco 49ers are not. 

Anderson's presence rekindled the offense and Morten Andersen kicked five field goals as the Falcons defeated the overmatched 49ers, 36-28, in the season opener for both teams. 

Anderson was second in the NFL in rushing in 1998, when the Falcons went 14-2 and made their first Super Bowl appearance. But in the second game of last season, the star running back tore his ACL and was sidelined for the season. 

So was Atlanta's offense. Without Anderson's ground game, the Falcons were predictable and sputtered to a 5-11 record. 

Anderson saw limited time in the preseason as he continued his rehabilitation. But coach Dan Reeves took off the wraps today and Anderson responded with 82 yards on 24 carries and 20 yards on his lone catch. 

Four of Andersen's field goals came before the offense found its stride. Chris Chandler threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to Terance Mathis in the second quarter and 48 yards to Shawn Jefferson in the third. Chandler completed 16-of-31 passes for 264 yards without an interception. 

Ashley Ambrose returned an interception 36 yards for a score and the Falcons survived a half-hearted rally by the 49ers as Anderson helped run out the clock. 

This was a game that the Niners used to win all the time with a late comeback, usually engineered by Joe Montana or Steve Young. But neither of those greats is at quarterback for San Francisco for the first time since 1980 and Jeff Garcia -- like many of his young teammates - still is learning the game. 

Garcia was 23-of-36 for 253 yards and three touchdowns, two to Fred Beasley, who also ran for a score. But the Niners played from behind for most of the final three quarters and lost its fourth straight visit to Atlanta, including a 1998 playoff game.



 
FINAL
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total
San Francisco
7
7
7
7
28
Atlanta
6
16
14
0
36
..... 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
SFO TD FRED BEASLEY 4 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (WADE RICHEY KICK), 4:35. Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards in 4:35. Key plays: Garcia 10-yard pass to Rice to San Francisco 37; Garcia 19-yard pass to Owens to Atlanta 40; Garcia 24-yard pass to Garner to Atlanta 6. SAN FRANCISCO 7-0
ATL FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 43 YD, 7:00. Drive: 6 plays, 20 yards in 2:25. Key plays: Vaughn 57-yard kickoff return to San Francisco 45; Anderson 3 carries for 19 yards. SAN FRANCISCO 7-3
ATL FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 44 YD, 13:13. Drive: 10 plays, 37 yards in 4:37. Key plays: Chandler 17-yard pass to Mathis on 3rd-and-12 to San Francisco 49; Chandler 20-yard pass to Anderson to San Francisco 28. SAN FRANCISCO 7-6
2nd Quarter
ATL FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 24 YD, 5:19. Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards in 5:30. Key plays: Chandler 22-yard pass to Jefferson to San Francisco 37; 5-yard offsides penalty on 49ers' Young on 3rd-and-4 to San Francisco 19. ATLANTA 9-7
ATL FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 44 YD, 9:22. Drive: 6 plays, 22 yards in 2:51. Key plays: Dwight 15-yard punt return to San Francisco 48; Chandler 16-yard run to San Francisco 29. ATLANTA 12-7
ATL TD TERANCE MATHIS 44 YD PASS FROM CHRIS CHANDLER (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK), 12:48. Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards in 2:24. Key plays: Chandler 17-yard-pass to Jefferson on 3rd-and-9 to San Francisco 44. ATLANTA 19-7
SFO TD FRED BEASLEY 1 YD RUN (WADE RICHEY KICK), 13:53. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards in 1:05. Key plays: Garner 13-yard run to San Francisco 33; Garcia 13-yard pass to Owens to Atlanta 38; 37-yard pass interference penalty on Falcons' Buchanan in the endzone. ATLANTA 19-14
ATL FG MORTEN ANDERSEN 48 YD, 15:00. Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards in 1:07. Key plays: Chandler 6-yard pass to Kozlowski on 3rd-and-6 to Atlanta 27; Chandler 25-yard pass to Jefferson to San Francisco 48; Chandler 12-yard-pass to Jefferson to San Francisco 36. San Francisco 5-yard offsides penalty to San Francisco 31. ATLANTA 22-14
3rd Quarter
ATL TD SHAWN JEFFERSON 48 YD PASS FROM CHRIS CHANDLER (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK), 0:54. Drive: 2 plays, 60 yards in 0:54. Key plays: Dwight 48-yard kickoff return to Atlanta 40; Anderson 12-yard run to San Francisco 48. ATLANTA 29-14
SFO TD FRED BEASLEY 4 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (WADE RICHEY KICK), 5:50. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards in 4:56. Key plays: Garcia 10-yard pass to Rice on to San Francisco 30; Garcia 18-yard pass to Rice to Atlanta 46; Garcia 10-yard pass to Rice to Atlanta 33; Garner 10-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to Atlanta 16. ATLANTA 29-21
ATL TD ASHLEY AMBROSE 36 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (MORTEN ANDERSEN KICK), 9:35. ATLANTA 36-21
4th Quarter
SFO TD TERRELL OWENS 6 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (WADE RICHEY KICK), 12:10. Drive: 3 plays, 26 yards in 1:06. Key plays: Norton recovery of J Anderson fumble at Atlanta 26; Garcia 11-yard pass to Rice to Atlanta 15; Garcia 9-yard pass to Garner to Atlanta 6. ATLANTA 36-28

 
Team Stats SFO ATL
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS
FIRST DOWNS (Rushing-Passing-by Penalty)
4TH-DOWN Conversions (Att-Comp)
3RD-DOWN Conversions (Att-Comp)
TOTAL OFFENSIVE NET YARDS
(Plays-Average)
NET YARDS RUSHING
(Plays-Average)
NET YARDS PASSING
(Att-Comp-Int)
(Average)
Sacks (#Yards)
FIELD GOALS (Made-Attempts)
PENALTIES (#Yards)
FUMBLES
TOUCHDOWNS
(Rushing-Passing-Returns)
TIME OF POSSESSION
TIMEOUTS REMAINING		 23
6-16-1
0-0
11-4
339
61-5.6
92
24-3.8
247
36-23-1
6.9
1-6
0-0
7-42
0
23
1-3-0
27:28
2		 22
6-13-3
0-0
0-0
359
63-5.7
95
32-3.0
264
31-16-0
8.5
0-0
5-0
4-51
1
22
0-2-1
31:39
3

 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
San Francisco rushing
Charlie Garner 15-62, Jeff Garcia 2-22, Fred Beasley 5-10, Terry Jackson 1-0, Jerry Rice 1--2.
Atlanta rushing
Jamal Anderson 24-77, Chris Chandler 4-12, Bob Christian 3-5, Shawn Jefferson 1-1.
San Francisco passing
Jeff Garcia 23-36 for 253 yards, 1 INT.
Atlanta passing
Chris Chandler 16-31 for 264 yards, 0 INT.
San Francisco receiving
Terrell Owens 7-72, Jerry Rice 5-59, Charlie Garner 3-45, Greg Clark 4-27, J.J. Stokes 1-25, Fred Beasley 3-25.
Atlanta receiving
Shawn Jefferson 7-148, Terance Mathis 3-72, Jamal Anderson 1-20, Bob Christian 1-12, Reggie Kelly 2-10, Brian Kozlowski 1-6, Chris Chandler 1--4.
Interceptions
Atlanta (Ashley Ambrose 1 for 36).
Kickoff Returns
San Francisco (Kevin Williams 4 for 67, Travis Jervey 1 for 18). 
Punt Returns
San Francisco (Kevin Williams 1 for 0). Atlanta (Tim Dwight 2 for 21).
Opponent's fumbles recovered
San Francisco (Ken Norton 1).
San Francisco Tackles (tackles-assists-sacks)
Ahmed Plummer 6-2-0, Winfred Tubbs 6-1-0, Junior Bryant 5-0-0, Lance Schulters 4-1-0, Monty Montgomery 4-0-0, Pierson Prioleau 4-0-0, Zack Bronson 3-1-0, Bryant Young 3-1-0, Jason Webster 1-2-0, Ken Norton 2-0-0, Julian Peterson 2-0-0, Jeff Posey 1-1-0, John Engelberger 1-0-0, John Keith 1-1-0, Anthony Parker 1-0-0, Edward Thomas 2-0-0.
Atlanta Tackles (tackles-assists-sacks)
Keith Brooking 6-3-0, Ronnie Bradford 6-2-0, Ray Buchanan 7-0-0, Marty Carter 4-0-0, Patrick Kerney 2-2-0, Ashley Ambrose 3-0-0, Gerald Mcburrows 3-0-0, Jessie Tuggle 3-0-0, Henri Crockett 2-1-1, Elijah Williams 1-2-0, Chuck Wiley 3-0-0, Shane Dronett 1-0-0, Travis Hall 1-0-0, Ed Jasper 1-0-0, Shawn Swayda 1-0-0, Darrick Vaughn 1-0-0, Johndale Carty 2-0-0, Terry Cousin 2-0-0, Jeff Kelly 2-0-0. 
....