5 burning questions for Rams vs. Falcons in Week 2

[theramswire.usatoday.com] 5 burning questions for Rams vs. Falcons in Week 2


Cameron DaSilva
September 17, 2022 4:30 am PT


The Los Angeles Rams are hosting the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon for a pivotal Week 2 matchup for both teams. While a loss won’t derail either team’s season, falling to 0-2 will certainly hurt their chances of making the playoffs.

The Rams are the much better team on paper, but the Falcons looked pretty impressed despite losing to the Saints in Week 1. To gain some insight on Atlanta, we talked to Matt Urben of Falcons Wire and asked him five big questions leading into this matchup.

1
How did Marcus Mariota look in his Falcons debut?
Falcons Wire: Mariota looked comfortable early on, but his play seemed to drop off in the fourth quarter when the Falcons needed a play to put the game away. He definitely did some things well, rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 215 passing yards. It would have been a solid debut for Mariota if not for the fourth-quarter collapse. He must play better during the fourth quarter and in the red zone going forward.


2
How do you expect the Falcons to use A.J. Terrell against Cooper Kupp? Will he shadow him?
FW: While the Falcons generally tend to keep Terrell on one side of the field, I could see the team making an exception for Cooper Kupp. Atlanta added Casey Hayward over the offseason to help take some pressure off of Terrell in the secondary, but both cornerbacks struggled in Week 1. Expect Kupp to see a healthy amount of Terrell, with some Darren Hall, Mike Ford and Dee Alford thrown in the mix on Sunday.

3
What's the biggest thing holding this team back?
FW: In my opinion, the biggest thing holding this team back is the lack of overall depth on the roster. Obviously, there’s some talent with guys like A.J. Terrell and Grady Jarrett, but the Falcons have seven new starters on defense alone this season. When things are going well, the talent of this group is clear, but when things start to go wrong, the team’s lack of chemistry begins to show itself.


4
What was the primary reason they blew the lead (again) last week?
FW: There were too many factors to blame just one unit for Sunday’s 27-26 loss to the Saints. After a promising start, Atlanta got too conservative on offense and the defense had no answer for Jameis Winston late in the game. Marcus Mariota fumbled the ball twice (one lost), which helped New Orleans climb back from a 16-point deficit. Falcons fans are sick of reliving that infamous 2016 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, but they can’t move past it until they stop blowing big fourth-quarter leads.

5
Who wins on Sunday and why?
FW: I expect this to be a physical, competitive game considering the Rams’ pass-protection issues in Week 1. On the other hand, I don’t think Atlanta can hang with Los Angeles for all fourth quarters of the game. Last time the Falcons faced Matthew Stafford, he threw a walk-off touchdown to beat them. Rams 24, Falcons 20.