It's dismissing it out of convenience, but there is no better explanation for them playing their worst game of the season after tanking a game intentionally. The theory that said it was the right thing to do held that the Rams would be fresher and sharper than a battle weary Falcons team. But the evidence in plain view last night was that it was the Falcons that were more ready to play than the Rams. So the theory that supported the tank was demonstrably wrong. The theory that the intentional tank could disrupt a young team's continuity appears to very much be supported by what we saw last night.
And the reason the Rams lost is because they were outscored 13-3 in the second half and Cooper did nothing in the second half that hurt them. The allegedly better rested and healthier team got their butts handed to them even more as the game wore on rather than the wearing down working the other way around. That's why they lost.
