The Atlanta Falcons kept their bid for Super Bowl redemption on track
Saturday with a 26-13 victory over the upstart Los Angeles Rams in the
first round of the NFL playoffs. Matt Bryant booted four field goals and
the Falcons defense kept the explosive Rams offense in check as the
Falcons booked a second-round clash with the National Football
Conference top seeds Philadelphia in the second round.
In American Football Conference action, the Tennessee Titans rallied
from an 18 point deficit to beat the Chiefs 22-21 in Kansas City. The
Chiefs haven’t won a home playoff game since January of 1994 — and have
now gone 0-6 since then at Arrowhead Stadium in the post-season. With
the Rams in their second season back in Los Angeles, the Southern
California city was hosting a playoff game for the first time since the
Raiders made it to the post-season in 1994. The Falcons, devastated by
the New England Patriots comeback victory in last season’s Super Bowl,
squeaked into the playoffs after an erratic season.
But their experience paid off against a young Rams team that had earned
the third seed in the NFC. Devonta Freeman rushed for a touchdown for
the Falcons and quarterback Matt Ryan added a scoring pass to Julio
Jones — an eight-yarder that gave Atlanta a 26-13 lead with 5:48
remaining.
The vaunted Rams offense, meanwhile, produced just one touchdown.
Quarterback Jared Goff completed 24 of 45 passes for 259 yards,
including a 14-yard touchdown pass to rookie Cooper Kupp that pulled the
Rams within 13-7 with 2:34 left in the first half.
A Sam Ficken field goal pulled the Rams within 13-10 at halftime, and
Ficken booted a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to narrow
the gap to 19-13 before the Falcons closed out their methodical
victory.
There was drama in Kansas City, where Tennessee quarterback Marcus
Mariota’s exploits included catching a touchdown pass from himself. The
remarkable play came as the Titans opened the third quarter trailing
21-3. Mariota marched them 91 yards and had rolled left and thrown
toward Corey Davis in the end zone.
Chiefs cornerback Darrelle Revis deflected the pass back toward him and
Mariota reeled in the ball and plunged into the end zone credited with a
six-yard TD pass to himself.
The Titans scored again early in the fourth when running back Derrick
Henry raced 35 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt
failed, leaving Tennessee down 21-16.
They edged ahead on Mariota’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Eric Decker with
6:06 left to play. The two-point conversion attempt failed — and nearly
brought disaster for the Titans when Mariota was sacked, but officials
ruled he was down before the ball came loose.
Similar drama unfolded on the Titans’ final drive, when Henry was hit by
Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters and the ball came loose. Kansas City
linebacker Derrick Johnson raced to the end zone with the apparent
fumble for a touchdown, but it was overturned as officials deemed Henry
was down and the play complete before Johnson scooped up the ball.
The Chiefs had built a quick 14-0 lead with a one-yard touchdown run by
Kareem Hunt and a 13-yard TD pass from Alex Smith to tight end Travis
Kelce. The Titans got on the board with a 49-yard field goal by Ryan
Succop, but Kansas City made it 21-3 in the final seconds of the first
half on a 14-yard scoring pass from Smith to Demarcus Robinson.
Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (left) rushes for a touchdown against Los Angeles Rams free safety Lamarcus Joyner during the NFC Wild Card playoff in Los Angeles. (USA TODAY Sports)