Atlanta Falcons fall short in electric comeback attempt vs. Rams

It looked as if the Atlanta Falcons were in for yet another blowout loss against a good team on Sunday when the Rams jumped out to a 28-3 lead the Falcons looked hopeless on both sides of the ball. However, a late Matthew Stafford interception and a blocked punt gave Atlanta improbable life and left Atlanta down 31-25 with the football in Los Angeles territory.

With the game on the line and 3rd and long Marcus Mariota opted to force the ball to Bryan Edwards with Jalen Ramsey in tight coverage and Ramsey picked off Mariota to end Atlanta’s comeback attempt.

Taking a purposeful safety on the next possession to run the clock the Rams won 31-27 in a head-scratching game that Atlanta had no business being as close to winning as they were. The Rams had this game locked away and pushed Atlanta back into contention.

Atlanta’s defense that was unable to slow Stafford whatsoever through three quarters was suddenly clutch late as well for the Falcons. However, the bad far outweighs the good for an Atlanta team that was unable to put anything together until it proved to be too late.

The Atlanta pass rush disappeared, Mariota was erratic, and the Falcons secondary consistently lost Cooper Kupp in their soft zone schemes. Overall this game was a step back for the Falcons who attempted to come from behind this week instead of letting an early lead slip away.

This is a game that may leave many Falcons fans ready to give rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder a chance and see what the rookie can do with this rebuilding roster. Week three against the Seahawks would certainly be an opportune time to put the rookie in the lineup, however, with Smith’s continual support of Mariota it seems highly unlikely we will see Ridder anytime soon.