It’s More Run Than Shoot for Falcons : Strategy: At least to start with, as Atlanta relies on the rushes of Heyward with Rison on the sideline.

For their first two drives of the game Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons’ modified run-and-shoot offense gave the Raiders fits.

Instead of using their familiar four-wide receiver lineup, Atlanta caught the Raider defense by surprise by inserting tight end Mitch Lyons as they amassed 104 yards in their first 17 plays--with 265-pound Craig Heyward accounting for most of it.

“We definitely wanted to get our running game started, and that is what we did,” Atlanta quarterback Jeff George said. “It worked well for the first couple of series.”

Atlanta Coach June Jones looked like a genius with this new attack as the Falcons drove around and over the Raiders even without Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Rison, who did not start because he missed the team’s bus and was late to the game.

So, with 2:50 remaining in the first quarter, the Falcons led, 10-0, and had the Raider defense guessing while they were able to protect second-year pro Lincoln Kennedy, who was making his first start at left tackle in place of 17-year veteran Mike Kenn.

“Our game plan was great,” said Terance Mathis, who entered the game as the NFC’s leading receiver with 51 catches. “Although we’re known for our passing, we jumped ahead 10-zip just by running the ball.”

That was until the Raiders made some adjustments of their own.

First, the Raiders got back into the game behind the running of Harvey Williams, who scored on a one-yard run to cut Atlanta’s lead to 10-7.

Then, the Raiders got physical and stopped the Falcons on their next three possessions of the first half, thanks to the run-stopping efforts of Nolan Harrison, Jerry Ball and Chester McGlockton.

Before the Falcons could blink, their 10-point lead had become a 14-10 deficit, and their run-and-shoot offense had turned into a crawl-and-fall attack.

“We know that we can’t throw, throw, throw on every down or we’d get killed,” said George, who completed five of only 10 attempts in the first half for only 61 yards. “We just got away from what we did well at the start of the game and they made some big plays defensively.”

With their season in jeopardy, thanks to a 2-4 start, the Raiders bounced back to stop the Falcons’ run-conscious offense. After gaining 62 yards in the first half, Heyward gained only nine in the final two quarters, which forced Atlanta to look to the air more in the second half.

“Once they got ahead they were able to just blitz and come after us,” said George, who completed 11 of 19 passes in the second half. “We practice against the blitz all the time, but when they know you are going to throw the ball, it’s tough to stop them from just teeing off on you.”

The Raiders made things difficult for the Falcons when they took the second half kickoff and drove 62 yards and scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Hostetler to Tim Brown to put Atlanta down by 11 points before the Falcons took a third-quarter snap.

Atlanta tried to regroup, but the Raider defense had an answer as they held the Falcons to only four third-quarter plays before punting.

“We just had too many mental breakdowns and started to slow down,” Kennedy said. “Mistakes hurt and took us out of a couple of drives when we needed to move the ball.”

The Raiders took a 24-10 lead before the Falcons finally got their offense to move again at the start of the fourth quarter.

Rison, who entered the game with 49 catches and six touchdowns, was not a big factor after sitting out the first quarter, but he did catch a 29-yard pass to help set up a four-yard touchdown pass from George to Mathis to cut the Raiders’ lead to 24-17 with 14 minutes left in the game.

From there, however, the Raiders took over as they controlled the clock and scored on two Jeff Jaeger field goals, while shutting down the Falcons with four sacks and two late interceptions by Lionel Washington.

“We played like we thought we had to do in order to win,” Jones said. “We were more conservative than normal, but we still had a chance. We just didn’t make the plays and the Raiders are a team that (can) turn (their offense) on at any time, and that’s what they did.”