ST. LOUIS -- Rams backup quarterback Gus Frerotte threw three first-half touchdown passes to give St. Louis a 21-0 halftime lead but it was Atlanta's backup signal-caller that made plays down the stretch and nearly led the Falcons to a miraculous comeback.
Chris Redman, who replaced Joey Harrington at the start of the fourth quarter, finished the game 16-of-24 for 172 yards and two touchdowns. The Falcons had a shot at victory inside the final three minutes, but a fourth-down incompletion in the red zone and an interception with 1:31 remaining brought the Edward Jones Dome crowd to its feet.
A 50-yard touchdown run by Steven Jackson blew the game open with 1:17 left and secured a 28-16 victory for the Rams (3-9).
Before the late score it seemed the Falcons (3-9) had a chance to pick up another victory on the 2007 season.
“Well I like what I saw in the second half," Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "I think that was the most competitive and had all three phases playing together and really fighting to come back and try to win a game. I told the team that I don’t believe you can spot somebody 21 points. We didn’t do a good job and that is my responsibility of getting ready for the game and taking the field the way you are supposed to take the field and being effective early. We made the quarterback change in the fourth quarter because I felt like Joey was being ineffective. Chris came in and threw the ball around, hit hands, got us into a position where we had an opportunity to win the game and then we just came up on the short end.”
Redman had taken just one snap in the regular season entering Sunday's game but he piloted the offense to scoring drives of 80 and 72 yards in the final 15 minutes. He was helped along the way by teammates young and old.
Roddy White showed speed after the catch, Michael Jenkins showed the ability to make acrobatic grabs, Alge Crumpler hauled in short passes and clashed with defenders, Jerious Norwood busted long runs, Michael Boley flew around the field to make tackles, Jonathan Babineaux exploded into the Rams backfield and safety Chris Crocker got a key interception that set up a chance for victory with less than three minutes to play.
It was an unlikely ending to a game that was controlled by the Rams for three complete quarters.
Frerotte, starting for an injured Marc Bulger, had scoring tosses to wide receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and tight end Randy McMichael and led the home team to that big halftime lead. St. Louis had scoring drives of 75, 95 and 80 yards in the opening half to put the Falcons at an early disadvantage.
Frerotte completed nine of his first 10 passes and Holt had 111 first-half receiving yards.
“We came out and spotted that team" Crumpler said. "We can’t afford to spot anybody. We have not put up enough points in any game. They had a nice long drive to start the game offensively and got their confidence going and that is the way things went.”
Atlanta's offense looked to respond but struggled to gain traction in the first half. The game didn't include a lack of individual highlights, however, especially in the second half as the Falcons started to mount a comeback.
White shook off an early fumble to finish the game with 10 catches for 146 yards (a career high) and a fourth-quarter touchdown that pulled the Falcons to within two scores. He also had a key play on a short completion in the third quarter by fighting off a tackle by Rams middle linebacker Will Witherspoon and plowed ahead for 7 extra yards and a first down.
That play set up a 41-yard field goal by Morten Andersen that snapped an ugly streak of punts and three-and-outs from the offense.
Jenkins had a diving grab in front of the Falcons bench as the first half came to a close. That was not as impressive, or timely, as his touchdown grab with 7:17 to play that fully swung momentum to the Falcons favor. Jenkins finished the day with five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Norwood got his legs under him in the second half when he busted loose for a 36-yard run that got the Falcons into Rams territory on one series. Norwood finished with eight carries for 94 yards. He also had three catches for 21 yards.
Crumpler had a season-high seven catches for 65 yards. The Pro Bowler showed flashes of the hard-hitting style that has made him one of the most respected tight ends in the game. His 21-yard gain on third-and-20 late in the third quarter put the Falcons square in the red zone with a chance to take the lead.
“We are more worried about ourselves more than them," Redman said. "We want to go out and play good football. We knew we are a good team, we just have to learn how to finish games. I am proud of the fact that everyone stayed in there and hung in and didn’t give up and played a hard game.”
Atlanta's defense tightened up in the second half behind individual brilliance from rising stars like Boley and Babineaux.
The pair combined for 10 tackles and several behind-the-line stops on Jackson. The duo also teamed up on a key stop in the third quarter. Babineaux exploded into the backfield and blew up a play to Jackson. The agile runner cut to the outside however and, if not chased down by Boley, would have likely had a 55-yard touchdown.
Crocker picked up his second interception of the year, as did safety Lawyer Milloy to slow the Rams offense in the second half.
“I guess you can find a silver lining in anything, but we lost," linebacker Keith Brooking said of the second-half performance. "We didn’t make the plays in the end that we had to make.”
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-RAMS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the Falcons-Rams game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the Edward Jones Dome press box
- INACTIVES AND STARTERS: Inactives and starters from Week 13
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Falcons-Rams Highlights
- VIDEO: Falcons-Rams Short from NFL Network
