After earning a big win against the Baltimore Ravens at the Georgia Dome last Thursday night, the Falcons will go to St. Louis to play their fifth road game of the year against the Rams. Despite the Rams going into the game with a 4-5 record, they have won all four games at home and the defense is ranked 11th in the NFL. The Falcons come into the game with a 2-2 road record and the last road game they played was in October when they were trounced by the Philadelphia Eagles 31-17.
The good news for the Falcons is they will come into the game healthier than in recent games. Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon returned to practice Thursday and should make his return to the lineup Sunday after missing the last four games. Tight end Justin Peele is back at practice after suffering a groin injury and he will also make his return against the Rams. John Abraham was on the injury report due to a groin injury but will likely start against the Rams barring any drastic changes.
Offensively, the Falcons have been playing as good as anybody in the league, scoring over 25 points in their last three games. And it’s not been the running game that has helped the offense score points at will. Matt Ryan has looked excellent in his last three games, throwing for seven touchdowns and only one interception. The road games are not bad for Ryan either. He has thrown for five touchdowns in two interceptions in four road games this year. With that said, the Rams defense is ranked 11th in the league and only surrenders 18 points per game. In order for Ryan and the rest of the offense to be effective against the Rams defense, they are going to have to do the same thing they did against Baltimore and that is hitting them in the mouth early and often.
The Falcons are not where they want to be defensively, but they are playing solid football. They are ranked 16th in total defense and are only giving up 19 points per game which is eighth best in the NFL. One of the reason’s they have been playing well is Abraham who has eight sacks through nine games. They have also gotten contributions from Brent Grimes who leads the team with three interceptions. But with the return of Weatherspoon, who has 29 tackles and one sack in five games, should add an extra boost the teams needs to win an important road game. The Rams offense is nothing to brag about, only ranked 26th in the league. But they hold on to the ball well with average time of 32:17 which is ranked sixth in the NFL. It’s important for the Falcons to get off the field when they are on defense so they can give the offense as many chances to score as they can.
What this game comes down to for the Falcons is can they keep the good times rolling after earning a physical and emotional win last week. They are facing a Rams team that believes they are better than their record and are nearly flawless when playing at home. However, the Falcons know they can’t afford to lose too many games because they hold only an one game lead in the NFC South race as well as the best record in the conference. So if they play their brand of football and take the game one play at a time, they should come away with their eighth win of the season.
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