Falcons deliver in prime time again. Although the overall record certainly doesn’t suggest it, for whatever reason these Falcons play their best football under the bright lights of prime time. That was certainly the case on Monday night, as Atlanta jumped all over Los Angeles from the start of the contest, forcing a three-and-out before embarking on an 11-play touchdown drive. The true key, though, was the performance of the Falcons’ defense, a unit that made Matthew Stafford uncomfortable all night, forced him to throw three interceptions, cashed one in for an instant score and built a lead big enough for the Falcons to survive a frantic second-half comeback attempt from the Rams. Atlanta fans will look at performances like this (and the three other triumphs in island games) and wonder why their team couldn’t perform like this on a weekly basis. As coach Raheem Morris said at halftime, they screwed up in 2025, but when they play their best football they can take down anyone — including a favorite to win the Super Bowl. Perhaps that alone will save Morris’ job after the season ends.Stafford’s rough night dooms Rams. With Patriots quarterback Drake Maye nipping at his heels, Matthew Stafford entered Monday night with plenty of reason to perform well. A win would help the Rams stay in the driver’s seat for the fifth seed in the NFC side of the playoffs, and a strong showing would move Stafford one step closer toward securing the NFL’s most coveted award. He and the Rams fell brutally short of that mark against a scrappy opponent. If any defense were to cause problems for the seasoned MVP candidate, it would be one coached by his team’s former defensive coordinator. Morris and Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich compiled an excellent game plan that leaned heavily on zone coverage and relied on base rushes to pressure Stafford, and because the Rams couldn’t consistently hold up in the trenches, the approach worked masterfully in the first half, shutting down Los Angeles’ high-powered offense while allowing the Atlanta offense to build a lead. It’s not exactly a blueprint for opponents, but it certainly was surprising to watch a defense cause headaches for a quarterback who has looked dialed in all season — and the Rams will need it to be a teaching moment if they’re going to maximize their potential in the postseason.Bijan reminds world of his excellence. Raheem Morris has been talking about it all season long, and while it might have come off as hyperbolic in the moment, Bijan Robinson proved in 2025 that he is one of the best players in the NFL with performances like Monday night. He’s especially good in prime time, too: In Atlanta’s five primetime contests this season, Robinson is averaging over 175 scrimmage yards. He finished with 195 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries Monday, including a 93-yard score that blew open the lead to 21-0 late in the first half, and knifed through the Rams’ defense with apparent ease, dominating on a night in which the Falcons needed his entire contribution to stave off defeat. Pay some respect, fans: Robinson is elite.Rams’ greatest weakness gets exposed. It might only be temporary, but for one night, the importance of the offensive line was painfully obvious for the Rams. With Alaric Jackson unable to play due to injury, veteran D.J. Humphries replaced him in the starting lineup and struggled mightily all night. Humphries was consistently beaten by edge rushers on run and pass plays, flagged for holding and/or illegal formation (for not being lined up on the line of scrimmage) in crucial spots and proved to be a massive liability for an offense that is built on providing Stafford time to survey and dice up defenses. Without that protection, Stafford struggled, digging a huge hole out of which the Rams spent the rest of the game climbing, only to fall in the end. If Los Angeles is truly a legitimate Super Bowl contender, it will only realize those hopes with better play from the left tackle spot — meaning the Rams better hope Jackson can come back soon. Otherwise, Monday night might only prove to be a precursor for what’s to come.Watts is having an excellent rookie season. Notre Dame product Xavier Watts didn’t hear his name called until the end of the third round in April, but he’s proving those who passed on him made an unfortunate mistake. Monday night saw Watts make two significant plays on passes thrown in his area, intercepting Stafford twice to end a pair of promising Rams drives and doing so in entirely different fashion, reading Stafford’s body language and breaking toward his intended target to close the gap between them and make a leaping interception, then following that up with a pick on a fourth-and-2 quick-fire attempt from Stafford that stopped the Rams in their tracks as they attempted to mount a comeback. Watts finished with three passes defensed, forced two tight-window targets and now has five interceptions in his debut season, becoming the perfect hard-hitting, relentless safety to complement veteran Jessie Bates and give the Falcons another promising young defender to build around.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Rams-Falcons (via NFL Pro): Matthew Stafford averaged a time to throw of 3.24 seconds in Week 17, his second-longest in any game since at least 2016. In the first half, Stafford struggled on passes over 2.5 seconds, completing just 4 of 11 attempts for 44 yards and two interceptions. However, in the second half, Stafford was 11/17 for 151 yards and a touchdown on such pass attempts.
NFL Research: Bijan Robinson’s 93-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the longest touchdown run in the NFL in the 2025 season and also the longest touchdown run in Falcons franchise history.