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| ATL at STL | BUF at WAS | CIN at PIT | CLE at ARI | DEN at OAK | DET at MIN | GB at DAL | HOU at TEN |
| JAX at IND | NE at BAL | NYG at CHI | NYJ at MIA | SD at KC | SEA at PHI | SF at CAR | TB at NO |
Week 13 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 16, St. Louis Rams 28
What you need to know
| Atlanta Falcons |
Chris Redman replaced an ineffective Joey Harrington to begin the fourth quarter and instantly ignited the team. He threw for two touchdowns, but came up short in the comeback attempt when he was intercepted by OJ Atogwe with less than two minutes to play.
Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood were very close to a 50-50 time split, with Norwood far and away the more productive of the two backs. Three of his eight carries were for long gains, whereas Dunn had ten carries for a total of 17 yards.
The passing game got pretty hot in the fourth quarter. Roddy White was the main target, for both QBs, as he finished the game with a whopping twenty targets. Alge Crumpler also looked to be back to his old form.
| St. Louis Rams |
Gus Frerotte got the start, while Marc Bulger (concussion) did not dress. In the first half, he looked amazing, easily moving the team downfield for three passing TDs. He threw a couple of picks in the second half, but the Rams were running the ball more as well, trying to protect their 21-0 halftime lead.
Steven Jackson was the hero of the day after he romped fifty yards for a game-sealing touchdown, very late in the game. But he just as easily could have been the goat, since without that carry he was basically a 2.5 yards per carry runner. He did help out in the passing game, and showed his moves once he was in the open field; but his run-blockers were simply not getting it done for him.
The Rams receivers were productive. Torry Holt was on fire to start the game. He was the target on nearly all the longer patterns and scored a touchdown, while Isaac Bruce was used on short and intermediate routes, and also scored a touchdown. Tight End Randy McMichael caught a rare touchdown pass on the opening drive. No other receiver was targeted much, but Steven Jackson made his presence felt as well.
What you ought to know
| QB Joey Harrington, Pass: 17 - 34 - 184 - 0 TD / 1 INT |
Harrington did not make it past the third quarter, as he was yanked after an interception. Early in the game, he appeared to be making progress against the Rams defense, but repeatedly came up just short in each case.
| QB Chris Redman, Pass: 16 - 24 - 172 - 2 TD / 1 INT |
Redman replaced Harrington to begin the fourth quarter and really ignited his team. He threw 24 times in one quarter (versus Harrington's 34 attempts through three quarters), nine of which were intended for Roddy White; two were for touchdowns, and one was a costly interception with under two minutes to play that foiled the comeback.
| RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 10 - 17 - 0, Rec: 1 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Dunn had a very unproductive day. He basically split carries with Norwood (ten to eight) but had only 17 yards on the ground to show for it.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 8 - 94 - 0, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (3 targets) |
Norwood had three big runs on only eight carries, one of which was a 35-yard carry that set up a fourth quarter touchdown. His three receptions were all for short gains. He basically split time evenly with Warrick Dunn.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 10 - 146 - 1 (20 targets) |
White had an extraordinary amount of looks from both quarterbacks. He fumbled the ball early in the game, but made up for it later by scoring on a catch from Redman in the fourth. Most of his catches were in the 15-20 yard range.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 5 - 48 - 1 (9 targets) |
Jenkins was effective moving the chains as nearly all of his catches were good for first down yardage. The lone exception was his five yard touchdown catch.
| WR Joe Horn, Rec: 4 - 38 - 0 (7 targets) |
Horn was only targeted once in the first half, but became an important weapon when the Falcons went to the air in the second half. Still, he remains the number four target behind White, Crumpler, and Jenkins.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (6 targets) |
Robinson was getting looks before Horn in the first half, and then was targeted three more times in the second. His numbers tell part of the story; the other is that once Redman entered the game, Robinson did not see the ball come his way at all.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 7 - 65 - 0 (13 targets) |
Crumpler had a pretty good day, and his presence in the passing game also allowed Roddy White to flourish. A healthy Crumpler does a lot for this team offensively.
| TE Dwayne Blakley, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Blakley caught one short pass in the first half. With Crumpler at full health, he is used mainly as a blocker.
| PK Morten Andersen 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Andersen made a 41 yard field goal in the third quarter, the first points the Falcons would muster.
| ATL Rush Defense |
They shut down the running game quite nicely, but did allow the backs to get open for short passes.
| ATL Pass Defense |
The team tightened things up in the second half, but they had trouble with Torry Holt especially, and rarely pressured the quarterback.
| QB Gus Frerotte, Pass: 23 - 35 - 311 - 3 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Frerotte looked like the second coming of Kurt Warner (circa 2000) in the first half, scoring easily on the first drive, and finishing the half with three passing TDs, and all to different receivers. In the second he threw two interceptions and allowed the Falcons a chance to get back in the game.
| QB Marc Bulger |
Bulger was inactive due to injury (concussion)
| RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 20 - 96 - 1, Rec: 4 - 71 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jackson was stopped cold on all but his last rush of the day, a 50 yarder that iced a game that the Rams nearly let get away from them. He was dangerous on a few catch and run passing plays.
| RB Antonio Pittman, Rush: 4 - 11 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Pittman was strictly a change of pace back, spelling Jackson when needed. He did contribute with two crucial first down runs in the fourth quarter.
| RB Brian Leonard, Rec: 3 - 23 - 0 (3 targets) |
Leonard was reliable on third downs, catching all three attempts thrown his way. He did not receive a single carry, however.
| WR Torry Holt, Rec: 6 - 135 - 1 (9 targets) |
Holt lit up the Falcons secondary in the first half. His first three receptions were for 23, 38, and 31 yards, with the last ending in the end zone. He was targeted less in the second half as the Rams were trying to protect their lead.
| WR Isaac Bruce, Rec: 4 - 31 - 1 (8 targets) |
Bruce had a touchdown, and a handful of short gains. For the most part, he played the role of reliable possession receiver in this game.
| WR Drew Bennett, Rec: 2 - 33 - 0 (4 targets) |
Bennett is sort of an afterthought in the passing game; he's the fourth option, after Holt, Bruce, and Jackson. He caught his first two for first downs, then dropped an easy one, and was only looked to once after that.
| WR Dane Looker, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
Looker contributed minimally to the game.
| TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 2 - 10 - 1 (4 targets) |
McMichael showed how dangerous he can be as a receiver, with his short TD catch. The Falcons were caught off guard because he had been helping out the offensive line so much, he was able to slide off a block and get wide open. Nevertheless, he was stuck blocking most of the time, which limited his potential.
| PK Jeff Wilkins 0 - 0 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 4 points |
Wilkins was perfect on four extra points; he had no field goal attempts.
| STL Rush Defense |
The Rams shut down Dunn, but Norwood ran wild on them.
| STL Pass Defense |
They looked good against Harrington, but once Redman showed up, they got beat for two passing touchdowns. Their saving grace was a key interception inside the two minute mark, which made the difference in the game.
