Atlanta Falcons continue playoff push vs slumping LA Rams
LOS ANGELES (AP) - ATLANTA (7-5) vs LOS ANGELES (4-8)
Sunday, 4 p.m. EST, Fox
OPENING LINE - Falcons by 4 1/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD - Atlanta 7-5-0, Los Angeles 4-6-2
SERIES RECORD - Rams lead 47-28-2
LAST MEETING - Falcons beat Rams 31-24, Sept. 15, 2013
LAST WEEK - Chiefs beat Falcons 29-28; Patriots beat Rams 26-10.
AP PRO32 RANKING - Falcons No. 9, Rams No. 27
FALCONS OFFENSE - OVERALL (3), RUSH (9), PASS (3).
FALCONS DEFENSE - OVERALL (27), RUSH (15), PASS (32).
RAMS OFFENSE - OVERALL (32), RUSH (30), PASS (29).
RAMS DEFENSE - OVERALL (10), RUSH (21), PASS (9).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Division rivals from 1967-2001 meet again on West Coast. ... Falcons routed Rams 47-17 in divisional playoff game during 2004 season. Rams haven't been back to playoffs since, and streak is unlikely to end this year. ... Atlanta shares first place in NFC South despite losing two of three, four of seven. ... QB Matt Ryan enjoying standout season with 3,813 yards, 68.6 completion percentage, 27 TDs and seven INTs. ... Star WR Julio Jones has turf toe, possibly hampering NFL's third-ranked offense (412 yards per game). ... Falcons President Rich McKay's son, John, is scouting assistant with Rams. ... Rams GM Les Snead spent 15 years in Falcons' front office until moving to St. Louis in 2012. Snead and coach Jeff Fisher received contract extensions last week. ... Rams have lost three straight, seven of eight to reduce playoff chances to nearly nothing. Playing out string in 13th straight non-winning regular season. ... QB Jared Goff to make fourth NFL start amid steady improvement. He has three TD passes, three interceptions. ... Rams' running game still inept with 79.2 yards per game. Todd Gurley has only 679 yards, 3.2 per carry. ... Fantasy Tip: LA defense has been shredded for three straight weeks, yet still ranks in top half of NFL. Look for Falcons to unload, so Ryan is good play.
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