ATLANTA -- Matt Ryan tumbled into the end zone, slammed the ball to the turf with a celebratory spike, and let out a yell that showed how much he wanted this game.
He wants the next one even more.
Ryan, who enhanced his credentials as an MVP hopeful with plenty of help from Julio Jones, guided the Atlanta Falcons to a 44-21 rout of the Green Bay Packers for the NFC championship Sunday, a showing that erased doubts about how Ryan performs in the biggest games.
In his ninth season, he's headed to his first Super Bowl.
"We'll enjoy it because it's hard to get to this point. I know that from experience," Ryan said. "But our ultimate goal is still in front of us."
The Falcons (13-5) will face New England on Feb. 5 in Houston, just the second Super Bowl appearance in Atlanta's 51-year history. Eighteen years ago, Atlanta lost to Denver in John Elway's final game.
Ryan threw for 392 yards and four touchdowns, but it was his 14-yard scoring run -- his first rushing TD since 2012 -- that set the tone .
Jones was right in the middle of things, too, despite a lingering toe injury that kept him from practicing much leading up to the game.
It was Jones' 73-yard catch-and-run on Atlanta's second snap of the second half that gave the Falcons a 31-0 lead and essentially turning the rest of the Georgia Dome finale into one long celebration.
"He's a beast," Ryan said. "I know he wasn't feeling his best, but he's a warrior."
Jones finished with 9 catches for 180 yards and 2 scores, the first touchdown coming on a toe-dragging 5-yard catch with 3 seconds left in the first half, sending the Falcons to the locker room up 24-0.
Then came the play that showed every one of Jones' remarkable skills.
On the second play of the third quarter, Jones blazed down the middle of the field, shook off LaDarius Gunter's attempt to grab him on a cut toward the sideline, hauled in the pass from Ryan, broke Gunter's diving attempt at tackle, and defiantly knocked away Damarious Randall's tackle attempt with a stiff-arm.
"I didn't practice that much throughout the week," Jones said, "but today I came out and gave it all I had."
Ryan's play drew chants of "MVP! MVP! MVP!" as he carved up an injury-plagued Packers secondary that had no way of stopping a team that averaged nearly 34 points a game during the regular season and romped to a 36-20 victory against Seattle last week.
The Packers, riding an eight-game winning streak and coming off an upset of the top-seeded Dallas Cowboys, got a taste of what they'd be in for on Atlanta's very first possession. The Falcons converted three third downs, the last when Ryan scrambled away from pressure and flipped a shovel pass to Mohamed Sanu for a 2-yard score to complete a 13-play, 80-yard drive.
Aaron Rodgers pushed the Packers quickly into Atlanta territory with a 27-yard pass to Jordy Nelson, who missed the previous game with a rib injury. But Mason Crosby, who hit two field goals longer that 50 yards in the closing minutes against the Cowboys, pushed a 41-yard attempt right of the upright to snap his playoff-record streak of 23 consecutive field goals.
The Falcons drove the other way, settling for Matt Bryant's 28-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead. Then, with Green Bay poised to make a game of it, Atlanta's defense -- one of the lowest ranked in the NFL -- came through a momentum-swinging play.
Packers fullback Aaron Ripkowski rumbled toward the end zone when Jalen Collins stripped the ball from behind and fell on it just across the goal line for a touchback.
"Their offense is hot right now," Rodgers said of the Falcons. "Playing a team like that, you've got to start faster. We had no points in the first half. You're not going to win many games like that."
Ryan hooked up with Jones three times for 56 yards and ran it in from the 14, faking out one defender with a pump fake before sprawling into the end zone.
"I just saw a lane open up," said Ryan, who had a 1-4 record in the playoffs over his first eight seasons. "That's the longest run I've had in a while. It came at a good time."
Atlanta's defense kept the Packers out of the end zone until the game was essentially locked up.
Rodgers finished 27 of 45 for 287 yards and 3 TDs, but he also threw an interception, was sacked twice and faced a relentless Falcons rush.
The Falcons finished with a 493-367 edge in total yards.
Sports on 01/23/2017