Falcons-Rams takeaways: Bijan Robinson's career night leads Atlanta to upset victory
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Nate Atkins and Josh Kendall
With the loss, the Rams need the Seahawks to defeat the 49ers in Week 18 and secure a win over the Cardinals to earn the NFC's No. 5 seed.
After jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead, the Atlanta Falcons held on to upset the Los Angeles Rams 27-24. The Falcons won their third straight game and improved to 7-9, while the Rams dropped their second straight and fell to 11-5.
Matthew Stafford led the Rams back in the second half, driving his team 89 yards in eight plays late in the fourth quarter, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass to Puka Nacua to tie the game at 24. But with 2:46 remaining, Kirk Cousins and the Falcons drove 32 yards in nine plays to put themselves in position for a game-winning field goal, which Zane Gonzalez drilled from 51 yards out with 21 seconds left on the clock.
On the ensuing drive, Stafford made a valiant effort to get the Rams into field goal range. He hit Nacua for a pass along the right sideline that the star receiver appeared to reel in with one hand. However, the catch was called incomplete.
Stafford, an MVP candidate this season, wasn’t at his best Monday night. He had his first three-interception game of the year as the Los Angeles offense failed to move the ball consistently. Stafford’s first interception was returned 34 yards for a touchdown by Falcons safety Jessie Bates III.
The Rams offense, which entered this week second in the league in yards per game and first in points per game, didn’t get its first points until Harrison Mevis made a 35-yard field goal at the 11:08 mark of the third quarter. The Rams didn’t notch their first touchdown until the 4:59 mark of the third quarter when Stafford found rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson for a 27-yard score.
The Los Angeles defense struggled mightily throughout the night, as Falcons star running back Bijan Robinson rushed for a career-high 195 yards, including a career-long 93-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter after Stafford threw his second pick of the game. Robinson also had 34 receiving yards and another score through the air.
The loss makes it more challenging for the Rams to secure the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Still, they have a chance to move into that spot depending on the outcome of Saturday night’s game between the Seattle Seahawks (13-3) and San Francisco 49ers (12-4).
If the Seahawks defeat the 49ers and the Rams top the Arizona Cardinals (3-13) on Sunday, the Rams will be the fifth seed in the NFC. If the 49ers beat the Seahawks to win the NFC West, the Rams will be locked into the No. 6 seed, while the Seahawks will own the fifth seed. Per The Athletic’s playoff simulator, the Rams’ chances of earning the No. 5 seed fell from 72 percent to 45 percent.
A new Falcons single-season record
Robinson has made the incredible look mundane this season. He broke the Falcons’ single-season record for scrimmage yards with a 229-yard game that gave him an NFL-high 2,255 yards for the season, which tops the 2,176 total yards running back William Andrews had in 1983. Robinson had a career-high 195 yards on the ground alone.
Robinson had a 93-yard touchdown run, but several of his short-yardage gains were just as impressive as the third-year back escaped tacklers again and again with his otherworldly change-of-direction skills. He has now topped 100 yards from scrimmage in 11 of Atlanta’s 16 games. — Josh Kendall, Falcons beat writer
Stafford likely lost the MVP award
Stafford entered this game having a season nobody saw coming in his 17th year and at age 37, with a league-high 40 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He was fresh off arguably his best performance of the season, when he torched the elite Seahawks defense for 457 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
And then Monday night happened. In prime time, Stafford fell back into some of his old habits of forcing throws and trying to arm his way to success, and it wasn’t working in a road environment with a collection of pass catchers missing Davante Adams.
He threw three interceptions, including a pick six to Bates, in which he overthrew a crossing route and put it right into the arms of a patrolling center fielder.
Stafford was also behind the reason the Rams got back into this game after Jared Verse blocked a field goal and returned it for a score. He threw a gorgeous deep-ball touchdown to Puka Nacua that was negated by a D.J. Humphries holding penalty. But then he followed it up with surgical command before he hit Nacua on a screen pass to tie the score late.
But when he had a chance to hit Xavier Smith on a deep post to set up a tying score — or take the lead — he left it just a little too far out front. And then he nearly had Nacua in the same spot, but Nacua couldn’t quite come up with a one-handed grab along the sideline.
Stafford finished 22-of-38 for 269 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions and a 64.5 rating — his worst in a game this season.
Stafford’s three-interception performance in a loss on national TV is a tough statement in a race with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye for the MVP award. — Nate Atkins, Rams beat writer
A defensive masterpiece by Falcons
Atlanta defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will remember Monday night’s game fondly. He heaped praise, and understandably so, on Rams head coach and play caller Sean McVay in the week leading up to the game. Then he matched him call for call.
The Falcons intercepted Stafford three times, which is even more impressive considering he threw only five interceptions in his first 16 games of the season. Rookie safety Xavier Watts had two of those interceptions, giving him five for the season, the most of any rookie in the league this year and tied with Deion Sanders for the most by any Falcons rookie in a season.
Bates also had an interception, which he returned 34 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Bates is the only player in the NFL to have a pick six in each of the last three seasons.
It may have been linebacker Kaden Elliss who had the most impressive game, though. Atlanta played a three-linebacker look more than it had at any point this season, putting Ronnie Harrison Jr. in Elliss’ usual place in the middle and letting the linebacker roam everywhere from edge rusher to coverage. — Kendall
More special teams blunders for Falcons
The most critical play of the game was almost the Rams’ blocked field goal that Verse returned 76 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Not only did it swing the momentum back to Los Angeles after it looked like the Falcons might put the game away, but it also highlighted a season-long issue for Atlanta: special teams.
The Falcons have been undone again and again by special teams blunders, from long returns to missed field goals, and Falcons coach Raheem Morris has been asked over and over if he plans to make a change on the special teams coaching staff.
Time and again, Morris has said he didn’t think it was necessary, but the Falcons are now 29th in the league in special teams EPA, and Morris’ unwillingness to make a change might not look good to owner Arthur Blank, who is believed to be debating his head coach’s future as the season draws to a close. — Kendall
Rams’ injuries take a toll
Injuries happen to every team, and the Rams knew some more could come to them after a relatively strong bill of health for most of this season. The injuries piled up in a tough way on Monday, particularly on offense, where Adams, left tackle Alaric Jackson and right guard Kevin Dotson all had to miss the game.
These are arguably three of Stafford’s five most essential teammates, and their absences all showed up. Without Dotson’s mauling abilities, the run game couldn’t get going until the fourth quarter. Without Jackson, the Rams saw a fourth-and-1 run by Kyren Williams blown up in the backfield. And without Adams, Rams receivers not named Nacua struggled consistently to get open when they needed to.
On defense, a secondary that was down to its third nickel cornerback fell into a bind to defend the pass and hold serve against Robinson, who exploded for 195 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
The Rams don’t have an NFC West title or No. 1 seed to play for, so they’ll likely keep Dotson and Adams on ice next week. They might do the same with Jackson, too, after he entered the game questionable. They could get safety Quentin Lake back next week, but they could also opt to wait with him, too.
This is a team built around its stars, and too many of them are hurt at the moment. But getting them back for a postseason run on the road feels like it means everything now. — Atkins