Atlanta Falcons at St Louis Rams Line

Written by Steve Janus

This Sunday the Atlanta Falcons will look to keep hold of their NFC South lead when they go on the road to take on the improved St Louis Rams. The Falcons pulled off an impressive last minute touchdown to beat the Ravens 26-21 last Thursday, and have now won three straight. The Rams were unable to come off their bye and get a win over the 49ers, as they fell 23-20 in overtime to fall to 4-5 on the season, but are just one game out of first in the NFC West. If you are thinking about betting on the game this weekend, the current NFL odds have the Falcons favored by 3-points over the Rams.

Atlanta (6-3): While the Falcons needed a late touchdown to get the win last week, they really outplayed the Ravens for most of the game. Matt Ryan really looked sharp, throwing for 316 yards and three touchdowns on 32 of 50 passing, as the Ravens really shut down the running game, holding Michael Turner to just 39 yards on 17 carries.

The Rams have been surprisingly good against the run this season, allowing just 98 yards a game on the ground, and held Frank Gore to just 87 yards on 22 carries last week. Roddy White had 12 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns last week, and the combo of Ryan and White figures to bring a difficult challenge to the Rams secondary.

The Falcons are just 2-2 away from home this season, and both wins have been close, so it will be interesting to see what kind of performance they give this weekend.

St Louis (4-5): The Rams have to feel like they let one get away last week, as they led 17-10 going into the fourth quarter, but couldn’t make the defensive stop when needed, allowing the 49ers to score 10 points in the final period of play. The defense did allow 421 yards of total offense, but didn’t allow the 49ers to convert a single third down conversion the entire game (0-11).

Sam Bradford completed 30 of 42 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown, and Steven Jackson rushed for 81 yards and a score on 20 carries. The Falcons have also been very good against the run this season, but stopping Jackson is a difficult task no matter how good of defense you got. Atlanta has had trouble stopping the pass this season, allowing 245 yards a game, and if they allow Bradford to get in a rhythm early, they could be in for a dog fight.

The Rams are 4-1 at home this season, but only one of those wins came against a team that currently has a winning record (Seattle, 5-4), but with the way Bradford is playing, there is no question that this team has a chance to pull off the upset.

Looking at the Odds: Even though the Falcons haven’t played as good on the road this season as they have at home, I think they are one of the best teams in the NFC, and should be able to go to St Louis and win easily. The Rams are improved, but not a legit playoff contender. The Rams are just 6-18 ATS in home games after allowing 400 or more total yards in their previous game since 1992, while the Falcons are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games as a road favorite of 0.5-3.0. My final score prediction is Atlanta 27, St Louis 17.

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