Atlanta Falcons upset Rams, Move on to Philadelphia
The Atlanta Falcons put together one of their most dominant performances of the season, beat Rams 26-13 to move on to Philadelphia.
The road warriors have started the postseason strong. On Saturday, the Atlanta Falcons defeated the young and exciting Los Angeles Rams 26-13 to move on to Philadelphia to play the Eagles in the Divisional Round next Saturday.
Lets give the Falcons credit, it was a tremendous effort by the team on all three sides of the ball.
On offense, as much as people criticized offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian throughout the year, he stuck to complimentary football and kept the Rams off the field for most of the night. The Falcons were on the field for 15 more minutes than the Rams.
More from Blogging Dirty
- Atlanta Falcons are the perfect fit for Leonard Floyd
- 3 Largest Atlanta Falcons 2023 dead cap hits
- Atlanta Falcons trade up for a quarterback in this full mock draft
- Atlanta Falcons: 3 trade packages to land first-overall pick
- 3 Reasons the Atlanta Falcons shouldn’t fear Derek Carr and the Saints
Quarterback Matt Ryan, who was under pressure all night, kept his composure and made enough plays to lead the Falcons to victory.
On defense, the Falcons put the clamps on the leagues highest scoring offense all night. The Rams came into this game averaging 30 points per game. The Falcons held the Rams to 13 points Saturday.
The big question coming into the game was how were the Falcons going to stop the great Rams running back Todd Gurley? The Falcons were able to hold Gurley to 111 all purpose yards, just enough to slow the Rams offense down.
Special teams for the Falcons came and huge and affected the game the most. Rams punt returner Pharoh Cooper, who was voted to the Pro Bowl, had a night to forget muffing one punt and then fumbling on kick return.
The Falcons were able to score 10 points off those two turnovers.
And old man Matt Bryant, who could probably still kick when he’s 50, continues to marvel making 4-of-4 field goals, including a 51 and 54 yard field goal.
Under the circumstances, the Falcons arguably put together their most dominant performance of the season and that is a scary sight for the playoff field in the NFC.
The Falcons will travel to Philadelphia next Saturday and have a real good shot of beating an Eagles team struggling on offense without Carson Wentz.
Next: Who will be Falcons post season X-Factor?
Maybe the Falcons were trolling us with the inconsistency in the regular season. Just maybe they are saving their best performances for last.