After a wild finish to the first half that included 21 points in the final 4:43 of the quarter, the Atlanta Falcons have taken a 17-14 lead into halftime at the Georgia Dome.
Both teams exchanged blows as the defenses dominated for most of the half. That all changed after Kroy Biermann sacked Marc Bulger when the Rams elected to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Atlanta 34.
Soon after, Matt Ryan completed a pass to Michael Jenkins off of play action for a 41-yard gain to the St. Louis 4-yard line. A Jason Rader false start pushed Atlanta back to the 9, but Michael Turner didn’t mind, getting to the sideline and finding the end zone on the ensuing play with 4:43 left.
But 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.
Jerious Norwood brought Atlanta back. He returned the kickoff 92 yards to the Rams’ 8-yard line. Then he scored on a run out of the wildcat formation to snatch the lead back going into the break.
Atlanta immediately looked a threat on the game’s opening offensive possession, driving 55 yards on eight plays before stalling just outside the 20-yard line. Jason Elam capped off the possession with his 29th field goal of the year from 39 yards away.
But the Rams silenced the home crowd soon after. St. Louis went straight down the field behind a 36-yard scamper and 4-yard touchdown run from Steven Jackson to take a 7-3 lead with 6:18 left in the first quarter.
MY THOUGHTS
This is beginning to look like a dangerous game for Atlanta. The 2-14 Rams are certainly not mailing it in, and they have nothing to lose. They have already attempted and recovered an onsides kick (although an offsides penalty negated the play), and they went for the first down on a fourth-and-3 in Atlanta territory in the second quarter.
Steven Jackson has not helped out much for the home team. He has rediscovered himself late in the season, running for 107 yards and averaging close to 8 yards per carry. In fact, St. Louis has dominated up front in the first quarter, an area where they have struggled mightily all year. If something doesn’t change, Atlanta could be facing a difficult matchup next weekend against the NFC North Champion (either Chicago or Minnesota).
The offense hasn’t been great either, having been unable to sustain a long drive thus far. Matt Ryan has looked inaccurate at times, completing 7 of 12 passes for 107 yards. He also missed a wide-open Harry Douglas, resulting in his 10th pick of the season. Turner led the way for the offense, rushing for 59 yards on 13 carries.
Bagriansky can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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