The Rams had more total yards with 421 compared to the Falcons 393, they also had five more first downs even though Atlanta held onto the ball longer. The Falcons completely dominated the first half but then they struggled after halftime. The first touchdown came on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Steven Jackson, then Ryan connected with Julio Jones for an 81-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter. Osi Umenyiora started the scoring in the second quarter by getting his first career interception and returning it 68 yards for the score. Matt Bryant added a field goal to give Atlanta a 24-3 halftime lead. The Rams were charging back before Jason Snelling ran a touchdown in from eleven yards out in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Ryan had a good day throwing the ball, completing 33 of his 43 passes for 374 yards and the two scores. Jones had the best day for the receivers with eleven catches for 182 yards and the touchdown. Robert McClain led the defense with nine tackles followed by William Moore who had seven, including a few bruising tackles. The Falcons lost Steven Jackson, Asante Samuel, Bradie Ewing, Sean Weatherspoon and Kroy Biermann in the game. It was announced that Jackson had a hip injury and he will be out two to four weeks. Samuel's status is still up in the air, while Weatherspoon was placed on injured reserve-designated to return meaning he will miss eight weeks with a foot injury. Ewing and Biermann were both placed on season-ending injured reserve as both are big losses to the team but especially Biermann as he is one of the team's top pass rushers.
The Rams looked lifeless in the first half as they only got a field goal from Greg Zuerlein. But Sam Bradford and company came to life in the second half. Bradford threw three touchdowns, including two to rookie Tavon Austin. The two passes to Austin were for six and ten yards and the other touchdown was on a three-yard pass to Austin Pettis. Bradford threw for 352 yards to go with the three touchdowns and the interception and almost led his team to another come from behind victory. Chris Givens led the receivers with five receptions for 105 yards while Pettis had eight receptions for 78 yards. Rookie linebacker Alec Olgetree, a former Georgia standout, led the team with eight tackles in the loss. Robert Quinn and Eugene Sims each had a sack in the game for St. Louis.
The Falcons are now 1-1 on the year and they will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins next Sunday at 4:05 p.m. The Dolphins are now 2-0 on the year after they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 24-20 on Sunday.
Julio Jones breaks away from a tackle in the Falcons' 31-24 victory on Sunday. Jones had eleven catches for 182 yards in the win.
Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports
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