Atlanta appeared able to avoid the Super Bowl loser’s curse by starting 3-0 but then dropped 3 straight and 4 of 5 to hear that talk resurrected.  The second half of the season produced 6 wins in 8 games but the Falcons still needed a Week 17 wins to earn a Wild Card and that was accomplished against Division rival Carolina which had already clinched a Playoff berth but still had a chance to win the Division title and host a Wild Card game.  The Rams were a major surprise this season under rookie head coach Sean McVay.  The team was steady all season, never losing back to back games.  They clinched the NFC West title with a week to go and rested virtually all starters in their final week loss to surging San Francisco.  The Rams are in the Playoffs for the first time since 2004, at the end of the franchise’s “Greatest Show on Turf” era while based in St Louis.  Under McVay the Rams displayed a killer instinct, an unusual characteristic for a team with such a long period lacking success.  QB Jared Goff and RB Todd Gurley looked nothing like the high drafted star players who had not lived up to expectations since their arrival.  The defense has been outstanding and the Rams are the best balanced team in the NFC in the eyes of many observers.  Atlanta won the NFC title last season and the suffered that epic collapse in the Super Bowl.  It’s hard to say how much experience counts given the sudden rise of the Rams.  When the Rams hung on to win Super Bowl 34 over Tennessee they made the Playoffs for the first time in ten seasons, having had 9 straight losing seasons and had gone from worst (4-12) to first (13-3) from a season earlier.  Different players, different coaches, different city, different era.  But the same franchise.  Atlanta was not nearly as productive on offense this season as last and they had many problems converting scoring chances into touchdowns.  Even in their win over Carolina to make the Playoffs, the Falcons settled for 5 field goals, 4 of which after drives stalled inside the Carolina 25 yard line.  Statistically these teams are fairly close overall.  But the Rams have the much better ‘look’ and despite losses to two of the other three NFC Division winners they showed their true nature in that 42-7 revenge road win at Seattle in the game that effectively decided the NFC West Division title.  The Rams are the real deal. 

01/06/2018 10:11 AM