Tony Gonzalez is expected to retire this offseason, but Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff is lobbying for him to return.

"A guy who is 36 (years old) catching 100-plus balls (including the postseason), it just doesn't seem like it's time for him to move on," Dimitroff said on Thursday.

Gonzalez said late in the season he was 95 percent sure he would retire. 

Dimitroff said there is no firm timetable for a decision.

"We don't have a deadline at all," Dimitroff said. "But let's face it that it's important for us to know sooner rather than later because we have to move forward on all our decision making."

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons were nearly unstoppable in the first half of Sunday's NFC Championship Game, getting out to a 17-0 lead. After scoring 24 points in the first half the Falcons' offense stalled in the second half and didn't produce any points.

The Falcons had five drives in the final 30 minutes, with two ending in Ryan turnovers, one three-and-out, one on downs in the red zone and the fifth was a desperation Hail Mary that landed 40 yards short of the end zone.

Tony Gonzalez continued to state that he will "probably" retire this offseason following the Atlanta Falcons' difficult 28-24 loss to the 49ers on Sunday.

"It's probably the last time I'm going to wear that uniform," Gonzalez said. "I didn't want to take it off, to tell you the truth. All good things come to an end and, like I said all season long, this is probably my last one. What an unbelievable ride." 

Gonzalez had eight catches for 72 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown reception.

Gonzalez said he will discuss his plans with his family before making his final decision on retirement.

"I'm not going to cry about it," Gonzalez said after the conclusion of his 16th season. "I walk away with the satisfaction I left everything, absolutely everything, every time I was on the field.

"I wish it would have culminated with the Super Bowl, but it didn't."

A fan of the Atlanta Falcons was stabbed in the throat during an altercation with a fan of the San Francisco 49ers at the Georgia Dome following the game.

The Falcons' fan punched a 49ers' fan and was subsequently stabbed.

The Falcons' fan was transported to nearby Grady Hospital.

The New England Patriots game on Sunday afternoon against the Houston Texans averaged 37.7 million television viewers, which ranked first amongst the four games of the weekend.

The Baltimore Ravens win over the Denver Broncos averaged 35.3 million viewers.

The Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks averaged 32.1 million viewers during their telecast.

The San Francisco 49ers' win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday evening averaged 30.9 million viewers.

Matt Ryan cocooned himself from the sports world during the two weeks between the end of the Atlanta Falcons' regular season and their playoff game on Sunday against the Seahawks.

Ryan typically would occasionally watch Sports Center and college basketball games, or read newspapers and sports sites.

"TMZ, a little bit,'' said Ryan when asked what he watched instead. "The NFL's so big, it's hard to completely ignore it, but I tried."

The San Francisco 49ers opened as a 3.5 point favorite on the road in the NFC Championship Game at the Atlanta Falcons.

The New England Patriots are a 7.5 point favorite at home against the Baltimore Ravens.

The 49ers recorded an impressive victory over the Packers behind an explosive performance from Colin Kaepernick.

Pro Football Focus has announced their All-Pro Team for the 2012 NFL season.

Selections from Playoff Teams

Five selections: 49ers

Four selections: Vikings, Patriots

Three selections: Broncos, Packers, Texans, Ravens, Bengals

Two selections: Seahawks

One selection: Colts

No selection: Falcons, Redskins

(Second team selection in parenthesis)

Offense

QB: Peyton Manning, DEN (Aaron Rodgers, GB)

RB: Adrian Peterson, MIN (C.J. Spiller, BUF)

FB: Vonta Leach, BAL (Marcel Reece, OAK)

TE: Rob Gronkowski, NE (Jason Witten, DAL)

WR: Calvin Johnson, DET (Brandon Marshall, CHI)

WR: Andre Johnson, HOU (Vincent Jackson, TB)

WR: Reggie Wayne, IND (A.J. Green, CIN)

LT: Duane Brown, HOU (Joe Staley, SF)

LG: Evan Mathis, PHI (Mike Iupati, SF)

C: John Sullivan, MIN (Max Unger, SEA)

RG: Marshal Yanda, BAL (Alex Boone, SF)

RT: Andre Smith, CIN (Sebastian Vollmer, NE)

Defense

Edge Defender: Cameron Wake, MIA (Clay Matthews, GB)

Edge Defender: Von Miller, DEN (Aldon Smith, SF)

Defensive Interior: J.J. Watt, HOU (Muhammad Wilkerson, NYJ)

Defensive Interior: Geno Atkins, CIN (Gerald McCoy, TB)

OLB: Jerod Mayo, NE (Kevin Burnett, MIA)

MLB: Patrick Willis, SF (Bobby Wagner, SEA)

OLB: Derrick Johnson, KC (Daryl Washington, AZ)

CB: Richard Sherman, SEA (Antonio Cromartie, NYJ)

CB: Charles Tillman, CHI (Champ Bailey, DEN)

Slot CB: Casey Hayward, GB (Antoine Winfield, MIN)

FS: Jarius Byrd, BUF (Devin McCourty, NE)

SS: Eric Weddle, SD (Reshad Jones, MIA)

Special Teams

K: Blair Walsh, MIN (Phil Dawson, CLE)

P: Thomas Morstead, NO (Dustin Colquitt, KC)

Returner: Jacoby Jones, BAL (Leodis McKelvin, BUF)

Special Teamer: Ashlee Palmer, DET (Johnson Bademosi, CLE)

Dirk Koetter has signed a contract extension to remain offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons through at least the 2014 offseason.

Koetter was interviewed by the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday. Koetter also was set to be interviewed by the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns.

Koetter previously served as a college head coach at Boise State (1998-2000) and Arizona State (2001-06).