Falcons primetime dominance continues with wild win over Rams

Falcons Primetime Dominance

The Falcons may have been eliminated from playoff contention around Thanksgiving, but they continue to remind the NFL world every time they show up on primetime that they are a much better team than their record shows.

Prior to the season, Atlanta was handed a remarkable five primetime matchups — one on Thursday Night Football, two on Sunday Night Football, and two more on Monday Night Football. Quite a remarkable slate of games in front of a national audience for a team that has not had a winning season since 2017.

That streak will continue in 2026, but not because of their work in primetime. Atlanta has just seven wins going into Week 18, but four of those victories have come with the whole world watching, including last night’s 27-24 victory over the Rams, which was highlighted by Bijan Robinson’s excellence, a young emerging defense, and of course, some Falcons antics that made the game a lot closer than it ever needed to be.

Bijan Robinson’s Historic Season

Atlanta never really got much going through the air, in part because they didn’t need to. Robinson paced the way for the offense, finishing just five yards short of 200 on the ground, including a 93-yard touchdown run with under two minutes to go in the first half. The run put the Falcons up 21-0, with Atlanta forcing two interceptions, one of which went for a touchdown, and a turnover on downs before heading into the locker room.

Robinson’s 229 yards from scrimmage last night now gives him the Falcons franchise record for yards from scrimmage in a single season with 2,255. That number is just 254 yards shy of Chris Johnson’s NFL record, so with one game to play, there’s a chance for Robinson to make history next Sunday against the Saints, something I imagine everybody around Flowery Branch is aware of.

The Future of the Falcons Secondary

After trading field goals, the Rams finally got in the end zone on their second drive of the second half, but the tide turned completely when Jared Verse took a blocked field goal the other way to cut the lead to just seven with an entire quarter remaining.

A punt gave Los Angeles the ball back with a chance to tie, but as good as Bijan Robinson was offensively, Xavier Watts might deserve the game ball for his performance on the other side. He was responsible for one of Stafford’s interceptions in the first half and then came up huge again on a fourth-down play, jumping a short route and nearly taking it the other way for a touchdown. It was Watts’ fifth interception of the season, breaking Deion Sanders’ record for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history.

A Wild Ending

Unfortunately, the dramatics were only beginning. The Falcons offense couldn’t get anything going in the second half and were forced to punt again following a three-and-out, and this time the Rams would cash in with an eight-play, 89-yard touchdown drive to tie the game.

It was an all-too-familiar feeling for a team that’s had so much trouble closing games all year, but Bijan Robinson wasn’t going to let what was such a good night up to that point slip away. He came up with 20 more rush yards on the final drive to put the Falcons just in range for Zane Gonzalez to nail a game-winning field goal, and the guy Atlanta picked up off the street delivered. Gonzalez is now 15-for-18 on field goals since joining the team, including two game-winners in primetime over the last three weeks against teams in the playoff picture.

A Bittersweet Reminder

The win highlighted everything good about the Falcons this season. They’ve shown up in big games and looked like world-beaters at times. Their defense can be suffocating even for the best offenses, creating pressure and forcing turnovers, and Bijan Robinson is having one of the best seasons in NFL history for a running back.

But it’s impossible not to watch Monday night and think about what could have been. Despite all the good that was on display, this is a team that lost seven out of eight games in the middle of the season and was eliminated from playoff contention a month ago, despite the NFC South winner potentially only winning eight games. There’s just no way that should be possible, but it’s the pill the Falcons must swallow heading into another offseason full of “what ifs.”