Believe it or not, the game’s actual score at one point was 28-3, favoring the Rams. This time around, however, the Falcons nearly made a comeback, as Atlanta falls short 31-27.
In third quarter, the Falcons were down by that margin (28-3) to the Los Angeles Rams before they started their comeback. The Falcons’ hopes of scoring the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter were dashed when Jalen Ramsey intercepted Marcus Mariota’s pass for Bryan Edwards in the end zone. This helped the Rams hold on for a 31-27 victory. So how close were they to a comeback?
How it began
With the ball after the opening kickoff, Atlanta drove 49 yards, but Younghoe Koo’s field goal attempt from 44 yards out was wide left. Stafford then found Allen Robinson for a 1-yard touchdown pass, and Los Angeles scored.
Next, Bobby Wagner and Greg Gaines stuffed Cordarrelle Patterson on fourth-and-2 from the 50, forcing Atlanta to punt. With 9:34 left in the second quarter, the Rams took advantage of the short field and scored when Darrell Henderson went 8 yards around the right guard.
Turnovers and conversions
After Cobie Durant picked off Mariota, Cooper Kupp scored from 3 yards to put the score at 21-3 at halftime. After the Rams took the second half’s opening kickoff and scored on a pass from Kupp, it looked like Los Angeles would pull away. However, the Falcons eventually mounted a comeback. The bad thing about the Falcons’ response is that they were only 3 of 10 on third downs and 2 of 4 inside the red zone.
QB1 and WR1
The Falcons are 0-2 for the fourth consecutive season, but they’ve had quite the roller coaster ride through the first two games. They blew a 16-point lead in their season opener last Sunday, falling to the New Orleans Saints by 27-26. Quarterback Marcus Mariota went 17-26, completing 65.4% of his passes, scoring two touchdowns and two interceptions. Through the first two games of the season, Mariota is completing 62.7% of his passes through the air.
On the bright side of things, Wide Receiver Drake London saw twelve targets come his way, receiving eight and hauling his first touchdown in his return to Los Angeles since the NFL Draft. Through two games, he’s tied for eighth in the league in receptions (13) and tied for eleventh in yards (160).
Next week, the Falcons travel to face Geno Smith and the 1-1 Seattle Seahawks.
