Nobody expected them to beat the Los Angeles Rams, but the Atlanta Falcons pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season on primetime last night. While the 27-24 win also confirmed the Falcons will play a part in deciding the NFC South champion, it was a victory of massive proportions in Atlanta.
The Rams are already a playoff lock, but putting a dent in their playoff seeding is far from ideal. Being the No. 5 seed in the NFC means they'll have an easier draw with the NFC South champion in the first round, which is a significantly more favorable matchup than the third-seeded Philadelphia Eagles.
However, worse than a bad playoff draw is the impact of the loss on draft position. The Falcons' 2026 first-round pick is in the hands of the Rams, but their third straight victory has seen the value of Atlanta's first-round pick steadily plummet after it was once approaching top-five pick territory.
Falcons are using their own first-round draft pick to screw the Rams over
At the moment, the Rams would be using last draft's James Pearce Jr. trade to select 12th in the 2026 NFL Draft, but a victory in Week 18 would see them closer to the middle of the first round, which is where the Dirty Birds were picking last draft, which helped them land a future stud in Jalon Walker.
The Falcons led by as much as 21 points in the victory, which they squandered, but still managed to find a way to play spoiler once again. With the win, they ensured it will be even harder for the Rams to potentially trade up for a quarterback with their 2026 first-rounder, since they won't be picking top 10.
They also managed to dash Matthew Stafford's MVP campaign, but that's an entirely different problem. The Rams entered this game dealing with some key injuries, but a win could help you lock up the No. 5 seed, but now they'll be sweating out the result of this weekend's Seahawks-Niners game.
The Falcons were mainly spurred by an elite game from Bijan Robinson, but all that matters is that end result. Raheem Morris prevailed against the team he used to coach for, which is sweet enough, but knowing they didn't gift the Rams a pick as high as it could've been for Pearce is incredibly assuring.
Nothing is set in stone yet, but the Rams will certainly be scoreboard watching the Falcons-Saints game on Sunday over that draft pick. And making matters better, most would make this trade again.