Rising Up Through GIFs: An Animated Look At Falcons-Raiders

The Atlanta Falcons pulled off a squeaker against the Oakland Raiders. It was a pretty incredible game, and there's only one way to properly tell the story. Through song! I mean GIFs!

The game started off innocently enough, with Matt Ryan bombing it to Julio Jones and Michael Turner running for nine yards. Then, a wild interception appeared!

Surely this was just a blip, however. The Falcons got the ball back when Jonathan Babineaux forced a fumble that Robert McClain then picked up. Matt Ryan would lead us to the promised land.

PICKSTORM! Ryan throws another one. Falcons fans wail, gnash teeth and rend garments. Fires burn throughout Peachtree!

The Raiders turned the next drive into three points, creating further woe. Coming into the second quarter, the Falcons were surely going to become a swirling tornado of efficiency. And...check.

In response to the awesome might of Matt Ryan, the Raiders managed only a feeble field goal. The Falcons were well on their way to an easy win thanks to Matt Ryan's arm until ohmygodno PICKPHOON!

Having netted a hat trick, Matt Ryan dropped a family unfriendly swear word on the sideline. For the sake of our sensitive readers, we will not share it.

That pick turned out to be semi-disastrous at last. The Raiders turned it into an easy touchdown, and suddenly they had the lead. More weeping, gnashing, rending, et al.

After the half, there were several drives that involved no scoring and a lot of snoring. Then, suddenly, the Falcons got moving. Harry Douglas helped!

The Falcons got a field goal soon after. John Abraham's crazy forced fumble and Edwards' return to the 2 led to a Matt Bryant field goal. Again.

The non-scoring streak continued until the fourth quarter. That's when Carson Palmer threw the pass that launched a thousand mentions of Asante's Samuel's name. Also, it was the best play of the season.

The Falcons then had some difficulty on the next series, allowing the Raiders to tie the game up. It looked like overtime was a possibility and the Falcons would....ah, screw it. Nobody believes the Falcons are doomed when they have seconds left in the fourth quarter.

At the end of the game, of course, it came down to Matt Bryant from 55 yards out. This is why we call the man money.

Ah, these Falcons. 6-0 forever.