"Someone is going to ask this question, so I am going to answer it before it's asked," Payton said during his postgame media session. "Typically, would I be throwing it there? The answer would be probably not. In fact, the answer would be 'I wouldn't be.' But I thought it was appropriate that we get the record. And we did it. We have a ton of respect for (Falcons coach) Mike (Smith), his staff and his players. It seemed like the right thing to do. I felt real good about the decision."