It was over when
The Falcons were clearly ready to get back to football on Monday night, and had a visible energy to them. The Falcons took a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter, but were never really threatened, despite Chris Henry's 58-yard touchdown reception to open the fourth quarter.
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| Mike Zarrilli / Getty Images |
| Joey Harrington won't make people forget Michael Vick with his running moves. But if he continues to put up passing numbers like he did Monday night, he certainly will. |
Game balls
This game was obviously huge to Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington. This was his first chance to put his stamp on the team, playing on Monday night. Harrington responded as he completed 13-of-21 passes for 164 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Harrington could have had more, but Roddy White dropped a touchdown pass in the third quarter. Don't overlook the performance of Carson Palmer, who also had two touchdown passes.
Key stat
Receiver Chad Johnson didn't want to play up his rivalry with DeAngelo Hall because it was a preseason game, but "Ocho Cinco" had five receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Noteworthy
The quarterbacks were on fire on Monday night, throwing five touchdown passes without an interception until Nic Clemons had an interception off a deflection with just under seven minutes remaining in the game. ... Noriaki Kinoshita had his first reception of the preseason. Kinoshita wants to be the first NFL player to hail from Japan. ... Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who had outpatient surgery on Wednesday to repair torn tendons in his left ankle, watched from the press box. It was the first time Lewis coached a game from the press box since 1996, when he was Baltimore's defensive coordinator.
