The Atlanta Falcons didn’t get the NFC South title they wanted, and they certainly weren’t planning on having to come back from a four-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the lowly Rams. But when the dust settled, they were still heading to the postseason on the heels of a 31-27 victory.
Michael Turner rushed for a whopping 208 yards on the day, but it was Jerious Norwood who won the game for Atlanta. He took a handoff from Matt Ryan and raced 45 yards to paydirt to score the winning touchdown with 3:41 to play.
Much like the rest of the day, the Rams didn’t go away, notching first downs on their first three plays and driving into Atlanta territory. But Chauncey Davis corralled Marc Bulger in the backfield on second-and-2 just before the two-minute warning. Bulger threw incomplete on his next two passes, and the Falcons had their first three-game win streak of the season.
But getting that third win was anything but easy.
St. Louis trailed 24-14 early in the third quarter, but fought back to take a surprising lead in the fourth quarter.
Jonathan Wade intercepted a Matt Ryan pass to help set up the go-ahead score, giving the Rams great field position at the Falcons with 9:55 to go. The Atlanta defense kept the Rams out of the end zone, and Josh Brown split the uprights from 27-24 yards to give them their first lead of the half.
Atlanta took an early 10-point lead in the third quarter as Ryan hooked up with Roddy White for an 18-yard touchdown toss early in the half.
St. Louis would hang around, and pulled within a touchdown on a 31-yard field goal from Josh Brown late in the the third.
The Rams then forced a three-and-out, and torched the Atlanta defense on a 62-yard drive to tie the game at 24. Torry Holt beat Chris Houston deep down the far sideline for a 33-yard gain, setting up Steven Jackson’s second touchdown run of the day from 2 yards out on the next play.
The Rams got the ball back just seconds later. Michael Turner rushed for 72 on Atlanta’s first offensive play of the fourth quarter, but Ronald Bartrell ran the pro bowler down from behind, stripped the ball as he took Turner down at the 2-yard line, and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback to keep the game tied.
The first half featured plenty of fireworks, too, especially in the final five minutes.
The action started after Kroy Biermann sacked Marc Bulger on fourth-and-3 from the Atlanta 34-yard line. With momentum on their side, Matt Ryan hooked up with Michael Jenkins for a 41-yard strike inside the 10. Turner scored his 17th touchdown of the year on the next play from scrimmage.
But for the first of many times, the Rams responded. They converted twice on third downs en route to a 16-yard touchdown throw from Bulger to rookie Donnie Avery with just 30 seconds remaining, taking advantage of a wide-open middle of the field after Atlanta opted to blitz the safety.
Norwood’s big-play ability allowed Atlanta to take a 17-14 lead to the break. He took the kickoff back 92 yards to the Rams 8. Then he scored on a draw play out of the wildcat formation with just 16 seconds remaning.
Turner’s strong game marked his eighth 100-yard game of the season. Meanwhile, White scored his seventh touchdown of the year.
The Rams received a huge boost from Jackson, whose season has not lived up to expectations thanks to a host of injuries. He rushed for 161 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, and also caught four passes for 54 yards.
Meanwhile, the Falcons needed a Carolina Panthers loss in New Orleans to take home the division championship and earn themselves a first-round bye. But Carolina pulled out a win at the last minute, getting a go-ahead 42-yard field goal from John Kasay with just six seconds left to bring home a 33-31 win.
Atlanta, which finishes the regular season at 11-5, will now get ready to head west to face the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs next week.
The Rams’ season came to a close with their 10th consecutive loss. They finish the year at 2-14.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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