The Los Angeles Rams received some good news ahead of their Week 14 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, as Falcon star wide receiver Julio Jones was not able to go as he’s dealing with a turf toe injury.
Atlanta did not struggle without their best playmaker though, as they dominated the Rams in every facet of the game beating them 42-7.
The slaughtering began from the opening kickoff, as Rams return man Michael Thomas muffed the kick and the Falcons recovered the ball inside the 10-yard line. Quarterback Matt Ryan connected with receiver Justin Hardy for a touchdown on the next play, putting the Falcons out in from 7-0 just seconds into the game.
While the Rams offense struggled in the first half, getting just two first down on six drives in the half. Atlanta capitalized on the Rams mistakes though, scoring two more touchdowns on a pass from Ryan to running back Tevin Coleman and an interception returned for a touchdown by Deion Jones and the Rams went into the halftime locker room down 21-0.
The third quarter was perhaps the Rams worst quarter of the season so far, as Ryan found receiver Taylor Gabriel for a 67-yard touchdown on their first drive of the quarter.
After recovering a fumble from backup running back Malcolm Brown, Ryan took the Falcons offense 54-yards on eight plays, capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Coleman.
That wasn’t it though, as on the ensuing Rams drive Falcons outside linebacker stripped Goff on a sack and recovered it, taking it 21 yards for a touchdown and the Atlanta lead expanded to 42-0 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
With the game effectively out of reach, Goff and the Rams put their only good offense drive together that was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Todd Gurley early in the fourth quarter. The drive went 60 yards on eight plays and included a 28-yard pass from Goff to receiver Kenny Britt.
Los Angeles scored another touchdown late in the game as Goff scored on a keeper from three yards out, but Los Angeles ultimately fell 42-14. Ryan, who was pulled from the game early in the fourth quarter, completed 18-of-28 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns.
Goff completed 24-of-41 passes for 235 yards and two interceptions to go along with his rushing touchdown. Gurley continued his rough season, as he managed just 60 yards on 16 carries, but his touchdown was his first in three weeks.
The Rams (4-9) have a short week ahead of them as they travel to take on the Seattle Seahawks (8-4-1) on Thursday night at 5:25 p.m. Pacific time. One of the Rams four wins came against the Seahawks as they beat them 9-3 in Week 2.
