The 6th seeded Atlanta Falcons, led by quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones, met the 3rd seeded Los Angeles Rams, led by quarterback Jared Goff and running back Todd Gurley, in an NFL NFC Wild Card playoff game on Saturday, January 6, 2018 (1/6/18) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.
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Here's the AP recap:
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons showed the upstart Los Angeles Rams what playoff poise is all about.
Ryan passed for 218 yards and hit Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play, and the defending NFC champion Falcons advanced from the wild-card round with a methodical 26-13 victory over the Rams on Saturday night.
Devonta Freeman rushed for an early score and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons (11-6), who spoiled the Rams' first playoff game in 13 years while showing off the postseason poise they earned from last season's journey to the Super Bowl.
Atlanta never trailed at the Coliseum while winning playoff games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
The Falcons advanced to face the top-seeded Eagles on Jan. 13 in Philadelphia.
Jones caught nine passes for 94 yards as Atlanta's offense chewed up the clock and field position. The Falcons jumped to an early 13-0 lead while capitalizing on two early mistakes by Pharoh Cooper, the Rams' Pro Bowl kick returner.
The Falcons' defense did more than enough to slow down the NFL's highest-scoring offense, harassing Jared Goff into a 24-for-45 performance in his playoff debut.
Robert Woods caught nine passes for 142 yards for the NFC West champion Rams (11-6), but rookie Cooper Kupp scored the Rams' only touchdown late in the first half.
Atlanta held MVP candidate Todd Gurley to 101 yards rushing -- just 43 in the first three quarters -- and four receptions for a mere 10 yards.
The Falcons ruined a celebratory night for the Rams, who rebounded from a rough homecoming season in 2016 with an outstanding debut year under 31-year-old Sean McVay, the youngest head coach to reach the playoffs in NFL history.
A raucous crowd of 74,300 packed the Coliseum on a crisp evening for the first NFL playoff game in the nation's second-largest city since early 1994. Los Angeles went 21 years without pro football before the Rams returned last season, and the franchise emphatically ended a 13-year streak of non-winning seasons this fall with an inspiring run to the Rams' first division title since 2003.
But the Falcons have been here before, and they showed it.
Although the Falcons' offense took a step back in production this season, Atlanta chipped away at the Rams' defense throughout the Coliseum return of offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, who coached USC here until 2015.
Ryan was methodical under relentless pressure from All-Pro lineman Aaron Donald, repeatedly avoiding trouble and making big throws. Freeman rushed for 66 yards, and Mohamed Sanu had a key 52-yard gain on a fourth-quarter screen pass while finishing with four catches for 75 yards.
Cooper is headed to the Pro Bowl after his outstanding regular season as a kick returner, but the second-year pro's misadventures in his playoff debut cost the Rams dearly.
He muffed a punt that bounced off teammate Blake Countess in the first quarter, and Bryant subsequently hit the Falcons' first field goal. After Bryant's second field goal later in the quarter, Cooper got stripped by Damontae Kazee during a kickoff return at the Rams 32, and the Falcons drove for Freeman's short TD run.
The Rams' offense struggled to get moving, but finally figured it out late in the first half. Goff made several sharp throws on a 79-yard drive ending in Kupp's TD catch.
Los Angeles then got the ball back and mounted another quick drive, but settled for Sam Ficken's first field goal and a 13-10 halftime deficit.
The Falcons' offense got back to its methodical work in the second half, mounting two clock-chewing drives ending in field goals by Bryant. The Rams' defense simply couldn't get off the field, whether due to missed tackles or clever playcalling by the Falcons.
Los Angeles trimmed the lead to 19-13 with 10:49 to play, but the Falcons made another drive highlighted by that beautiful screen pass from a blitz-avoiding Bryant to Sanu.
Jones then caught the sixth playoff TD pass of his career. Goff drove the Rams deep into Falcons territory, but L.A. turned it over on down at the Atlanta 5 with 2:05 to play. The Falcons stopped the Rams again on downs at midfield with 1:08 left.
UP NEXT
After the Falcons' defensive performance against Goff, they look like a potential problem for the powerful Eagles without quarterback Carson Wentz in the early Saturday divisional playoff game.
Here are NJ Advance Media's picks and predictions for the game.
Here's what you need to know:
What: NFC Wild Card playoff game
When: Saturday, January 6, 2018
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Time: 8:15 p.m. Eastern
TV: NBC
Livestream: NBC Sports Live
Line: Rams -6.5
Falcons notes: QB MATT RYAN has 41,796 career pass yards & surpassed PEYTON MANNING (41,626) for most pass yards by player in his 1st 10 seasons in NFL history. Passed for 4,095 yards, his franchise-record 7th consecutive season with 4,000+ yards. In his past 3 games vs. Rams, has 864 pass yards (288 per game), 7 TDs & 0 INTs for 114.4 rating. Has 1,410 pass yards (352.5 per game), 12 TDs & 1 INT for 129.2 rating in his past 4 playoff games. Aims for his 5th in row in postseason with 100+ rating. * RB DEVONTA FREEMAN had 1,182 scrimmage yards, his 3rd consecutive season with 1,000+ scrimmage yards. In 3 career playoff games, has 330 scrimmage yards (110 per game) & 3 TDs (2 rush, 1 rec.). RB TEVIN COLEMAN aims for his 4th playoff game in row with TD. * WR JULIO JONES led NFC with 1,444 rec. yards. Has 9,054 career rec. yards & reached 9,000 yards in his 95th game, fastest in NFL history. In his past 4 postseason games, has 30 receptions for 516 yards (129 per game) & 5 TDs. WR MOHAMED SANU has TD catch in 2 of his past 3 playoff games. * LB DEION JONES ranked 2nd in NFC with career-high 138 tackles. Has FF, INT & 3 PD in 3 career playoff games. S KEANU NEAL led NFC safeties with 113 tackles. Had career-high 13 tackles in SB LI. LB TAKKARIST MC KINLEY was only NFL rookie with 5+ sacks (6) & 2+ FFs (2). DE ADRIAN CLAYBORN led team with career-high 9.5 sacks. CB ROBERT ALFORD ranked 4th in NFL with 20 PD.
Rams notes: QB JARED GOFF ranked 3rd in NFC in rating (100.5) & tied for 5th in NFL in TD passes (28). Had 3 games with 300+ pass yards, 3+ TD passes & 0 INTs, most in NFC. * RB TODD GURLEY led NFL with 2,093 scrimmage yards & 19 TDs. Is 3rd different player in NFL history to have 2,000+ scrimmage yards (2,093), 10+ rush TDs (13) & more than 5 TD catches (6) in single season (HOFers O.J. SIMPSON, 1975 & MARSHALL FAULK, 2000 & 2001). Had 83 scrimmage yards & rush TD in last game vs. Atl. * WR ROBERT WOODS had career-best 781 rec. yards & tied career-high with 5 TDs. WR COOPER KUPP ranked 2nd among NFL rookies in rec. yards (869), 4th in receptions (62) & tied for 4th in TD catches (5). Set franchise rookie records in receptions, rec. yards & TD catches. WR SAMMY WATKINS has TD in 4 of his past 5. * DT AARON DONALD led team & tied career-high with 11 sacks & had 5 FFs, most among NFL DTs. Had sack in last game vs. Atl. Since entering league in 2014, leads NFL DTs with 39 sacks. LB ROBERT QUINN has 6 sacks & 2 FFs in his past 6. Had sack in only career game vs. Atl. (9/15/13). Since 2011, is 1 of 3 in NFL with 60+ sacks (62.5) & 20+ FFs (20). LB ALEC OGLETREE led team with 95 tackles, his 4th time in past 5 seasons leading Rams in tackles. LB MARK BARRON has 2 FRs in his past 3 vs. Atl. CB TRUMAINE JOHNSON led team with 14 PD. -- NFL Communications