The Los Angeles Rams (11-4) have one more primetime game left, a date with the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday Night Football. Los Angeles will be looking to come out swinging
in response to their Thursday Night blown loss to the Seattle Seahawks. If there is any silver lining moving forward, the Rams were able to go on a 6 game win streak after their Week 5 Thursday Night Football loss. A 6 game win streak moving forward would guarantee that the 2025 Los Angeles Rams hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
But the journey will start with an NFC matchup against the Falcons who have a desire to spoil the draft pick that they sent to the Rams in their 2025 NFL Draft day trade. As for LA, they may want to kick start their ground game against Raheem Morris’s defense that has struggled to stop the run all year. Here is my positional breakdown and who has the edge for Monday’s night matchup.
QBs: Matt Stafford cemented the MVP with his 400+ yard and 3 TD performance against the Seahawks. At this point, the question remains how many total touchdowns he will end up with. If the Rams loses, its rarely because #9 failed to produce.
As an NFL fan, I’m glad that Kirk Cousins is a starting quarterback. I think he will regret having moved from Minnesota to Atlanta for the extra money but I understand family decisions. The Rams will look to rattle Cousins from within the pocket as his achilles injury from a few years ago should have sapped some of his mobility.
RBs: I was surprised that Kyren Williams got the majority of run calls since Blake Corum has been the better running back as of late. Look for the Rams to reestablish their run game against the Falcons after the Seahawks did not allow a carry over 9 yards.
Bijan Robinson is a top 5 running back in the NFL. His shiftiness and power allows him to beat defenders in a number of ways. The Rams have slowed down Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Saquon Barkley but they will get a great test with Bijan on Monday Night.
WRs: At this point, what else can you write about Puka Nacua? Davante Adams wasn’t even on the field Thursday to draw attention away from defenders. Yet, Puka still caught 12 passes for 225 yards and 2 touchdowns. It’s worth noting, Tutu Atwell may not be catching passes but he sure is creating a lot of space for Puka Nacua to work in the intermediate. Teams are having to respect Atwell’s top speed. We wall want Atwell to catch passes but does it really matter if he is creating space for Puka?
I think Drake London has the potential to be a top 3 in the NFL. However, the revolving door at QB in Atlanta has hindered his development. Darnell Mooney as the team’s #2 is really not creating a whole lot for a WR making $13 million AAV.
TEs: We are seeing Terrance Ferguson getting featured in the red zone more often. He’s had a lot of bad luck with penalties negating plays. Stafford and him are just 1-2 feet away from really clicking. After having a strong week against Detroit, Parkinson took a step back against Seattle.
Kyle Pitts may not be living up to his draft pick selection but he is a very productive TE. I actually think the Rams should consider signing him this offseason. With Tyler Higbee likely to retire, the Rams could sign Pitts to work in their 13 personnel with Parkinson and Ferguson. Parkinson and Allen are free agents at the end of 2026 season.
OL: The injury to Kevin Dotson is a significant loss to the Rams. They will be hoping he can return in time for the playoffs but he was seen in a walking boot and crutches after the game. Justin Dedich played fine in his absence but he would not be my choice for who they want to ride with going into the playoffs.
The Falcons offensive line is actually impressive. Jake Matthews-Matthew Bergeron-Ryan Neuzil-Chris Lindstrom-Elijah Wilkinson are a top 5 offensive line in my opinion. They have only allowed 1.5 sacks per game (4th best) and the rushing attack averages 124.7 yards/game (9th best). Its surprising that the Falcons aren’t better (record-wise) with this type of elite play.
DL: Braden Fiske continues to be hobbled by an ankle injury. He is another body that LA will want to get healthy for a playoff run. Kobie Turner has risen his PFF grade from the 60s at the beginning of this year to 78.7 (6th best).
David Onyemata, Kentavius Street, and Ruke Orhorhoro will be ATL’s defensive linemen in base packages. Onyemeta has been the best of the three while Street and Orhorhoro should be exposed.
EDGE: I’m less worried about Jared Verse and more worried about Byron Young beginning to disappear. Young started the year off really strong but has come back down to earth. It’s not just the lack of sacks in the 2nd half of the season. Byron Young only has 1 tackle for loss in his last 9 games. I for one would like to see Josiah Stewart and Desjuan Johnson get more reps in his spot if it means getting a fresher version of BY0.
Atlanta traded their 2026 1st round pick to LAR for the opportunity to select James Pearce Jr. Pearce has 9 sacks but he has not been strong in run defense.
LBs: Nate Landman and Omar Speights have had a rough month for Los Angeles. Teams have been starting to attack them at the second level and have found some success.
Divine Deablo and Jalon Walker will handle the second level for Raheem Morris’s defense. The defense has allowed 195.1 passing yards/game (8th) and 128.2 rushing yards/game (25th).
DBs: The Rams secondary might need a shakeup as the defense has allowed 31, 17, 34, and 38 points in the last four games. Akhello Witherspoon is probably worthy of getting another look with the defense to keep fresh legs.
AJ Terrell is the Falcons best cornerback and will likely be assigned to Puka Nacua. Former first rounder, CJ Henderson, who was recently called up from the practice squad will also get a longer look on Monday Night.
ST: Whether it was the an emotional move or not, the firing of Chase Blackburn was long overdue. The hope will now be that the Rams special teams can be serviceable through the last two weeks and then the playoffs. No one is expecting the special teams to be amongst the league’s best. But Sean McVay can’t have it be the reason they lose anymore games moving forward.
Zane Gonzalez and Bradley Pinion are the special teams kicker and punt for Atlanta. Gonzalez is 11/13 on field goal attempts in 2025. Pinion leads the NFL in punts downed inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.
Coaching: Sean McVay will square off against his former defensive coordinator and long time friend Raheem Morris. The Rams advocated for Morris to become a head coach again but the first year as probably been bumpier than expected. Another familiar face on the sidelines will be Zac Robinson, the Falcons offensive coordinator who served as McVay’s quarterbacks coach. He will be tasked with scheming against Chris Shula. Shula’s defense has struggled as of late due to the injury of Quentin Lake.
Which matchup do you like most for Los Angeles? Which matchup do you least like? Comment below.
