Todd Gurley caught a touchdown pass in his return and the Los Angeles Rams' defense dominated on the road in a 37-10 victory Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Rams ended their three-game losing streak, while the Falcons lost their fifth in a row and saw quarterback Matt Ryan leave in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.
Rams quarterback Jared Goff passed for 268 yards one week after he was held to 78 yards in the air as the Rams (4-3) won in their return to Atlanta, where they lost Super Bowl LIII to the New England Patriots to end last season.
Gurley caught a 13-yard TD pass from Goff in the second quarter after missing a game because of a quadriceps injury. He rushed for 41 yards on 18 carries. Goff scored his own TD on a 1-yard run in the third quarter.
Ryan was 16 of 27 for 159 yards in the loss. He was knocked out of the game with a right ankle injury after he was sacked by Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and fumbled. He hobbled into the locker room and was declared of the game.
This was the first time on the season that Ryan, who started his 153rd consecutive game, did not pass for at least 300 yards. The Falcons (1-6) have not won since defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.
The Falcons' frustrations appeared to boil over after Ryan threw an interception in the third quarter. Running back Devonta Freeman was ejected for throwing a punch at Donald after the play ended.
New Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who was acquired in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday, forced a first-half fumble in his Los Angeles debut.
Neither team was particularly effective on offense in the first half, with the Rams getting a pair of Greg Zuerlein field goals in the first two quarters, along with Gurley's TD catch. The Falcons were held to 108 total yards in the first half and one Matt Bryant field goal.
The Rams built a 27-3 lead on third quarter TDs from Gerald Everett on an 8-yard TD pass and Goff's TD run. Zuerlein added a 20-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Falcons backup QB Matt Schaub led the Falcons on their only TD drive, hitting Austin Hooper on a 10-yard score with 2:41 remaining.
The Rams added a TD with 11 seconds remaining when Darious Williams recovered a Russell Gage fumbled punt return in the end zone.
--Field Level Media
L.A. Rams | Atlanta | |
Todd Gurley II | Player | Devonta Freeman |
18 | Attempts | 7 |
41 | Yards | 19 |
2.3 | Avg Yards | 2.7 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
10 | Long | 9 |
L.A. Rams | Atlanta | |
Robert Woods | Player | Julio Jones |
5 | Receptions | 6 |
80 | Yards | 93 |
16.0 | Avg Yards | 15.5 |
0 | Touchdowns | 0 |
25 | Long | 39 |
Yards | Scoring | Defense | ||||||
Team | Tot | Rus | Pas | TD | FG | INT | Sck | FF |
L.A. Rams | 381 | 90 | 291 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5.0 | 4 |
Atlanta | 224 | 38 | 186 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |