Atlanta’s Downward Spiral Continues In Loss to LA Rams

On a cloudy, cool Sunday afternoon here in Atlanta, the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Los Angeles Rams, 37-10. It was a complete domination by the Rams. From the start, the Rams looked like the better team and played with much more energy and focus than the Falcons. Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn spoke after the game about the loss.

“We were beaten in all three phases of the game,” said Quinn mellowly, with a disappointed look on his face. “There’s a level of accountability for all of us to measure up to, and we didn’t meet that. We’re disappointed for our fans today. We’re going to work like crazy to play like we are capable of, but disappointing and frustrating for all of us involved today.”

In the first half, on their first drive of the game, the Falcons showed some signs of life offensively and it seemed like they were going to do well against the Rams. After backup running back Kenjon Barner returned the opening kickoff 32 yards, the Falcons went on a nine-play, 33-yard drive that ended in a 52-yard field goal from kicker Matt Bryant to take a 3-0 lead. This would be the only time the Falcons would hold the lead.

On that drive, the Falcons showed pretty good balance in running the ball and passing the ball, even though they failed to convert the first down attempt. Unfortunately for Atlanta, things would only worsen from there.

On the Rams’ first offensive drive, they opened with five straight running plays for 14-yards before flexing their muscles with their lethal passing game on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Jared Goff to wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Seven plays later, Los Angeles kicker Greg Zuerlein lined up for a 40-yard field goal and missed it. This gave the Falcons decent field position at their 30-yard line.

On this drive, the life the Falcons had shown on their first drive was completely gone. Running back Devonta Freeman was stopped for a one-yard loss and quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked on back-to-back plays by Rams linebackers Dante Fowler and Corey Littleton. After a 42-yard punt by punter Kasey Redfern, the third punter for Atlanta so far this season, the Rams went on a five-play, 20-yard drive capped off by a 55-yard field goal from Zuerlein.

On their next drive, the Falcons were unable to get anything going and promptly punted the ball. The Rams responded with a deadly nine-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Goff to running back Todd Gurley. This gave the Rams a 10-3 lead and they would never look back. Before halftime, they would add a short 25-yard field goal from Zuerlein to take a 13-3 lead.

The third quarter was where things really started to go south for the Falcons. On the opening drive of the quarter for the Rams, they went on a nine-play, 75-yard drive that ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Goff to tight end Gerald Everett. In addition to the score, the drive was highlighted by a beautiful 33-yard pass from Goff to Everett deep down the right sideline. This score gave the Rams a 20-3 lead and it felt like the game was out of reach for Atlanta at that point.

However, it would only get worse for the Falcons. On their first drive of the third quarter, backed up on their own 23 after a 10-yard holding penalty, disaster struck. There was immediate pressure in Ryan’s face as he quickly threw the ball towards wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, where it bounced off his hands and into the waiting arms of Rams linebacker Corey Littleton. This gave the Rams the ball at the Atlanta 16-yard line. After the play, there was fight between both teams and Freeman was ejected after throwing a punch at Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

With Freeman being ejected, this left the Falcons with only two available running backs for the rest of the game. Backup running back Ito Smith was already out after being carted off the field with a head/neck injury. The only available running backs were Brian Hill and Kenjon Barner.

With great field position, the Rams responded with a one-yard touchdown run from Goff. Goff actually made a nice athletic move on the play, rolling to his left and shaking Falcons linebacker Deion Jones and then running uncontested into the end zone. Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke after the game about the play.

“I told him he’s the worst sneaker in the history of football for us to even have to run that play,” said a grinning McVay. “I didn’t see the spike, but I did see the move. I think he looked pretty athletic there. He better of gotten in too. It was a nice job. I think Jared did a good job managing the game today, just staying even-keel throughout and he led our offense. It was good to see for him.”

The Rams would eventually tack on another field goal and recover a fumble on special teams in the end zone to score 37 points. Goff led the team, completing 22-37 passes, for 268 yards and two touchdowns. Along with a rushing touchdown. Kupp led the team in receiving with six catches for 50 yards and fellow receiver Robert Woods added five catches for 80 yards. Defensively, the Rams were led by Fowler, who had three of the Rams five sacks, and Littleton who had a sack and the interception.

The Falcons were led by Ryan as he completed 16-27 passes for 159 yards, with one interception. He was also sacked five times and lost a fumble. To make matter worse, he left the game midway through the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. Backup quarterback Matt Schuab finished the game and threw a touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper.

Quinn spoke after the game about Ryan’s injury.

“Well, we’ll have a better sense for that as the week goes,” said Quinn. “I didn’t get a chance to visit with him yet after the game, so we’ll get a better sense for where we’ll go. If he’s not able to, obviously we’ll lean on Matt Schaub who’s got plenty of experience. I know how tough Matt [Ryan] is; if there’s a chance he can go — I don’t know the extent of the injury, where we’re at yet, so I think I’ll have a better answer Monday, Wednesday, Thursday as we’re heading into the week.”

With this loss, the Falcons fall to 1-6 on the season and are in the midst of a five-game losing streak. At least three of these losses in this losing streak haven’t felt close either. For the Falcons to have any sort of chance to make the playoffs, they would likely have to win 10 games, which means they would need to go on a nine-game winning streak. Which isn’t likely. When asked if this is a lost season for him or the team, Quinn said no.

“I’ll answer the first one as a lost season, no, I never think you’re out of the fight. You shouldn’t think that way as a team member, and I certainly don’t think that way as the coach. I recognize that when you don’t play well, those are fair questions, but I don’t feel like we’re ever out of the fight, and until we do like we’re capable of, my fight would always stay consistent.”

With the Seattle Seahawks coming to town next week, there’s not a lot of time for Quinn to get this team, specifically the defense, on the right track. Quinn is already firmly on the hot seat but if Atlanta loses to Seattle in a blowout, Falcons owner Arthur Blank may make a change at head coach.

The Seahawks will face off against the Falcons on October 27th, at 1PM EST at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Written by Erik Slaby

Share This Story:

Related Content

Atlanta Falcons
Greg Atkins

Falcons Unveil 2023 Schedule

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. —  The Falcons joined the rest of the National Football League in unveiling the entirety of its 2023 schedule on Thursday evening.

Read More »