EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Former Drake standout kicker Billy Cundiff had a night to remember in his debut with the Atlanta Falcons Friday night.

The Harlan, Iowa, native converted all three field goal attempts and a point after conversion kick in Atlanta's 31-16 National Football League exhibition loss to the New Jersey Jets.

Cundiff made field goals from 45 and 41 yards in the second quarter along with a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. He also had two tackles on kickoff return coverages.

Cundiff closed out his career at Drake, owning 15 school and five Pioneer Football League records, including school career marks for points 9284), field goals (49-of-79) and PATs (137-of-151). He made eight field goals over 50 yards during his career at Drake, including a PFL record 62-yard field goal as a junior in 2000 against San Diego.

The Falcons released kicker Aaron Elling last Monday, leaving Cundiff as the only place kicker on the roster.

Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002, Cundiff spent time with the Buccaneers, Packers and Saints before signing with Atlanta May 4.

In four seasons with the Cowboys he converted 60 of 82 field goals (73.2 percent), tying a NFL record with seven field goals in a 2003 Monday Night Football game at the New York Giants. He also set a Cowboys' record with a 56-yard field goal against Detroit in 2005.

“There's all kinds of reasons for roster changes,” Atlanta special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said. “All teams go through it. It could be performance related. It could be numbers related. It could be a situation where there's someone else out there and it's related to that. Billy has shown in his time here that he earned the opportunity to stay.”

Cundiff said he'll continue to work hard in camp.

“My focus was to kick as well as I could when I had competition in camp,” he said. “Now that's not really going to change. I've been doing it long enough to know you're really only as good as your last kick.”