When glancing at the Los Angeles Rams’ schedule, the Atlanta Falcons looked like a very favorable opponent in Week 2 – especially after L.A. opened the season against the Buffalo Bills. It was always going to be tough for the Rams to beat the Bills, but at the very least, they were expected to start 1-1.
The Falcons showed in Week 1 that they won’t be an easy out for Los Angeles, even with the Rams being at home.
They took the Saints down to the wire in the opener, and that was only after blowing a massive lead. The Falcons were up 26-10 with 12:41 left in the fourth quarter, but they allowed 17 unanswered points to lose 27-26 on Will Lutz’s field goal with 19 seconds remaining.
It felt much too familiar for the Falcons, blowing another big fourth-quarter lead, as they have more than any team in the NFL the last few years. But if the Falcons could’ve held on to beat the Saints, it would’ve been one of the bigger upsets of Week 1.
What makes them particularly challenging is the rushing tandem of Marcus Mariota and Cordarrelle Patterson. They combined for 192 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 34 carries, continually picking up first downs on the ground.
Mariota’s mobility has always been one of his best assets, and he used it to rush for 72 yards against New Orleans – including a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Falcons up 23-10 in the third.
And when he threw the ball, he was relatively effective, completing 20 of 33 passes with no turnovers. He didn’t have a strong connection with Kyle Pitts yet, only completing 2 of 7 passes for 19 yards when targeting the tight end, but Pitts is already one of the most dangerous tight ends in the league.
Drake London showed promise in his debut, too, catching five passes for 74 yards, including a 31-yarder. Jalen Ramsey should be able to handle the rookie wideout, but he’s a tough matchup, even this early in his career.
Defensively, the Falcons still have Grady Jarrett on the interior and A.J. Terrell locking down receivers on the outside. Jarrett had 1.5 sacks and two QB hits in the loss to the Saints, and now he’ll be going up against first-time starter Tremayne Anchrum Jr. at right guard. That could pose some problems for L.A.
The Rams are favored by 10.5 points over the Falcons and are playing at home against another East Coast team, but Atlanta showed it may not be as bad as everyone expects this team to be in 2022.
