Falcons kicker Matt Bryant is coming off of a phenomenal game against the Rams in which he went 4 of 4 with a pair of 50-plus yarders. He's currently gearing up to play the Eagles in the divisional round, as the Falcons try to defend their NFC title from last year. However, Bryant wasn't always the kicker he is now. He comes from some of the most humble beginnings -- a pawn shop worker in Texas.

Bryant played for three different colleges: Trinity Valley Community College, Oregon State and Baylor. He was a very good kicker in college -- he's seventh on Baylor's all-time scoring list after playing in just two seasons -- but he went undrafted. After graduating, he worked at a pawn shop in Orange, Texas.

There, Bryant said he saw everything. "One time a guy came in and pawned his gold [capped] teeth," Bryant said in an interview with the Florida Sun-Sentinel back in 2004. "You don't want to give him money for the weight of the teeth, so you go in the back and bust up the teeth.

"At the end of every day, you say that you've seen it all. Then the next day, you say the same thing."

Bryant had a one-game stint with the Iowa Barnstormers, an Arena Football League team, in 1999. He also played a few games in NFL Europe. Throughout this time, he was kicking during lunch at the pawn shop, until the Giants signed him in 2002.

Bryant played two years for the Giants before getting cut when Tom Coughlin took over the team. He played for three more teams: The Colts, Dolphins, and Buccaneers, before joining the United Football League's Florida Tuskers. Bryant was eventually signed by the Falcons in 2009, at age 34. Now 42, Bryant is in the midst of his ninth season as a Falcon. He has made 88.1 percent of his field goals as a Falcon, and 99.7 percent of his extra points. He's also 32-of-41 kicking from 50+ yards.

It's been a remarkable career for Bryant, and it's undoubtedly been a bumpy road. Now, however, he has tunnel vision with the rest of the Falcons, as they try to make amends for last year's historic Super Bowl collapse and get the franchise's first ring.