Tony Gonzalez: 'Farewell match went as I expected'

Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez has revealed that his final game went "exactly" as he expected, apart from the result.

The Falcons fell to a 21-20 defeat at the hands of the Carolina Panthers in a match that saw Gonzalez's stellar 17-year career come to an end.

The 13-time Pro Bowler was in reflective mood after the contest and admitted that his career had surpassed anything he could have dreamt of when he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1997.

"Honestly, it went exactly as I thought it would go except for the winning part. We weren't able to pull it out. My career has turned out to be something more than I ever thought and more than I ever dreamed," Gonzalez told The AP.

Gonzalez has caught more touchdown passes and made more receiving yards than any other tight end in NFL history, while he has only fumbled once despite making almost 1,400 receptions during a career in which he missed just one game.