Matt Ryan, Falcons keep Rams at arm’s length

Week 11:Falcons (7-2) at Rams (4-5) Nov 21, 2010 3:00 CST 34 17 NFL.com: Recap | Play by Play | Video The Atlanta Falcons played like older brothers to the young and growing Rams on Sunday — they showed the Rams how to play, then beat them at their game. For all the talk of the Falcons being a model franchise for the Rams to pattern themselves and their game after, on the field it was a matchup between unequals; the Falcons simply dominated the clock on offense, limiting the number of chances Sam Bradford and the Rams had to pull off an upset. Consider these numbers a brief portrait in inequality: Despite averaging the same yardage per play (5.6), the Falcons ran 70 plays, the Rams ran 54. The Falcons held the ball for 35:55, the Rams only 24:05. Despite bringing every kind of rush imaginable, the Rams got only 2 hits on the Falcons’ unflappable quarterback, and zero sacks, on 39 dropbacks. (The Falcons hit Bradford only once that was tallied on the stat shee...