NFC WILD CARD
FALCONS AT RAMS
USA TODAY’s Nate Davis previews the NFC wild-card matchup between the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams When: Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET (NBC) Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Line: Rams by 6
Injuries: The Rams should be fresh after sitting QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley, WR Cooper Kupp and DL Aaron Donald on Sunday. The Falcons have been in playoff mode for weeks. WR Julio Jones, C Alex Mack and RB Tevin Coleman are among those hurt. THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Scoreboard watching: The Rams shut down their stars Sunday, but no team had scored more points than the 465 they posted through 16 weeks. They’ve made immense strides — Goff especially — under rookie coach Sean McVay a year after producing the fewest points and yards in the league. The Falcons were the league’s highest-scoring outfit in 2016 but were much less explosive in 2017 without former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan even though the offensive lineup was largely unchanged. Still, the potential exists for a shootout with California’s January climate conducive to offensive fireworks.
2. MVP! MVP? Last season’s NFL MVP, Falcons QB Matt Ryan, never came close to recapturing his 2016 form. A year after throwing 38 touchdown passes, he plummeted to 20 and didn’t have more than two in a game. His struggles were a microcosm of that of the offense under Shanahan’s replacement, Steve Sarkisian. Ryan might be handing off the MVP hardware to Gurley, who led the NFL with 19 TDs and 2,093 yards from scrimmage and almost surely would’ve taken the rushing title if he’d played Sunday. Stopping him in the run and pass game have to be focal points of Atlanta’s athletic defense, which would be wise to put the burden on Goff. 3. Special special teams: Saying the game is played in three phases often seems like lip service. But perhaps no team leverages special teams superiority like the Rams, who count KR Pharoh Cooper, P Johnny Hekker and K Greg Zuerlein among their Pro Bowlers. Cooper is always a threat to go the distance; Los Angeles scored two TDs this season off blocked punts, and Hekker’s background as a high school quarterback makes him dangerous on fakes. However, a back injury prematurely ended Zuerlein’s season, forcing the team to rely on unproven Sam Ficken going forward.