ALIVE AND KICKING; AMAZING ATLANTA STUNS MINNESOTA ON OT FIELD GOAL : ATLANTA 30, MINNESOTA 27.

Byline: Mike Freeman New York Times

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter could not control his emotions. As he walked off the field Sunday after the Atlanta Falcons won the NFC title in overtime, 30-27, Carter burst into tears. Other Vikings players were crying and some simply had stunned looks. Linebacker Ed McDaniel kept mumbling, ``I can't believe this.''

Believe. That is what the Falcons have done all season and there is almost a mystical quality to this team. In the exhibition season, few picked the Falcons to win their division. Once they did, riding an emotional high from the successful heart surgery undergone by coach Dan Reeves, few thought they could beat what was being called one of the best teams of all time in the Vikings. Minnesota was too fast, too explosive, the experts said.

But the Falcons believed and they gained the franchise's first trip to the Super Bowl when Morten Andersen kicked a 38-yard field goal with 3:08 remaining in overtime.

The Vikings kicker, Gary Anderson, who had not missed on 122 field-goal and extra-point attempts since December 1997, narrowly missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter and the Vikings leading 27-20.

Not only did the Falcons believe, but they attacked against the heavily favored Vikings. From Tim Dwight returning kicks from 5 yards deep in his end zone, to gutsy quarterback Chris Chandler throwing bombs early then leading a John Elway-like game-winning drive, to the Falcons' defense playing without fear against a deadly Minnesota passing game, Atlanta acted as if this were a pressure-free exhibition contest against the Indianapolis Colts, not the NFC championship game.

Now the extremely confident Falcons go to Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami where they will play the Denver Broncos, who beat the Jets 23-10.

``I don't think that Minnesota disrespected us, but everyone else did,'' said Jamal Anderson, the Falcons running back. ``We're the first team to go on the road for the conference championship with a 14-2 record. We've got a 3,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers, an 1,800-yard rusher and a defense that was No. 2 in the NFL stopping the run, and everybody was saying, `Look at the Vikings.' We want you to disrespect us, we want to be the underdogs, but at the end of the game we'll be the ones smiling.''

``I mean, it's incredible when you think about it, coming from 1-7 halfway through your first year, to be in the Super Bowl in the second year,'' said Reeves. ``It's an unbelievable group of guys. They believe and they work hard and do the things that you have to do, what you preach as a coach.''

The Falcons executed a brilliant game plan on both sides of the ball. While many thought that stopping Anderson was the key, it was not. Anderson had just 67 yards on 23 carries. Atlanta's plan all along was to attack a weak Minnesota pass defense. Atlanta racked up 427 yards of offense but only 110 on the ground.

Chandler was brilliant, completing 27 of 43 passes for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Receivers Tony Martin (5 catches for 129 yards) and Terance Mathis (6 catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns) found themselves single-covered much of the afternoon. They destroyed the Vikings' secondary.

Defensively, the Falcons gave up some big plays early as Minnesota jumped to a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Wide receiver Randy Moss had five catches for 71 yards and a touchdown at the end of two quarters but just one catch for four yards in the second half.

That was because the Falcons made a smart tactical decision in double-teaming Carter and Moss and taking their chance against the run. Running back Robert Smith (71 yards) did some damage, but taking away the receivers eliminated Minnesota's big-play capability.

``That was a key part of the game,'' said Reeves.

What might have hurt the Vikings more than anything was a crucial turnover just before the first half ended. Up by 13 points with 1:17 left, the Vikings decided to go for the throat. But Cunningham, after dropping back to pass, had his arm hit by defensive end Chuck Smith. The ball popped loose and was recovered by defensive lineman Travis Hall at the Minnesota 14-yard line. Chandler hit Mathis for a touchdown on the next play.

After that fumble, the Vikings would score on just one of their next eight possessions.

When Minnesota's Anderson - 35 for 35 on field-goal attempts in the regular season - missed a 38-yard field goal that would have given the Vikings a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the momentum changed.

Chandler led Atlanta on an eight-play, 71-yard drive that concluded with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Mathis with 49 seconds remaining to tie the score.

In the overtime, Chandler directed one of the best playoff drives of the decade.

Neither offense could move the ball well early in the overtime. Then Chandler got hot. He threw passes for 15, 26 and six yards, and unlike Cunningham, he was not jittery in the pocket. He coolly guided the Falcons on a 10-play, 70-yard drive, setting up the game-winning field goal by Andersen.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: MINNESOTA vs. ATLANTA

THE HERO

The sorest man in America is most certainly Atlanta's Chris Chandler, for all the punishment Minnesota's defense handed to him. Still, hobbled with a bad ankle and bleeding, the Falcons quarterback led his team on a 71-yard, eight-play drive in the deafening Metrodome, hitting Terance Mathis on a 16-yard TD pass in the final minute to force overtime. Chandler outplayed Randall Cunningham, throwing for 340 yards on 27 of 43 passing with three TDs, keeping his composure even though the Vikings threatened to run away with the game late in the first half. Instead, Cunningham fumbled in the final minute and Chandler found Mathis again on the next play to pull within 20-14 going into halftime, keeping Atlanta in the game.

THE GOAT

Some might have thought it bad karma when the boys in the truck at Fox flashed Gary Anderson's amazing stats on the screen when the Minnesota kicker lined up what should've been the game-clinching field goal with 2:07 left and a 27-20 lead. Anderson, the most prolific placekicker in NFL history (420 lifetime field goals), was 35 for 35 this season, hitting everything from every distance on every surface at every stadium. But he couldn't do it when it counted the most. His 38-yard attempt started left and kept hooking, sliding just outside the left upright, giving Chandler and the Falcons room to work.

STAT OF THE GAME

Take your pick. On the road, Atlanta outgained the highest-scoring offense in NFL history 427-356. . . . Before ``The Miss,'' Gary Anderson had hit 106 consecutive kicks (including extra points). . . . NFL touchdown leader Randy Moss was held to one catch for 4 yards in the second half and overtime. He finished with six catches for 75 yards and a TD.

QUOTE OF THE GAME

``When we got here, we found they were already selling tickets for the Super Bowl. We came here to spoil a lot of trips. If they're coming to the Super Bowl now, they're going to have to come see the Falcons.''

- Atlanta cornerback Michael Booker.

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--2--Color) Morten Anderson's 38-yard field goal with 3:08 remaining in overtime stymied Minnesota and gave Atlanta its first Super Bowl berth in the team's 33-year existence.

Morry Gash and David Bergman/AssociatedPress

(3--Color) Gary Anderson had made 122 consecutive field goals and extra points since December 1997, but his miss on a 38-yard attempt in the fourth quarter might have cost Minnesota a Super Bowl berth.

Beth Keiser/AssociatedPress

(4--Color) Chris Chandler

(5--Color) Gary Anderson

BOX: NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: MINNESOTA vs. ATLANTA (see text)