For the 2025 NFL season, digital team reporter Terrin Waack will provide select stats, facts and quotes from the most recent Atlanta Falcons game to consume with Miller Lite. Stats were gathered with the help of StatsPerform.
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons won 27-24 against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday in their Week 17 prime-time game inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in front of 69,313 ticketed fans.
STATS TO CHEERS OVER
-- Falcons safety Xavier Watts picked off Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice – once in the second quarter, then again in the fourth quarter. He now has five interceptions since getting drafted in the third round earlier this year.
- Watts surpassed Kenny Johnson for the most interceptions by a Falcons rookie safety all-time. Johnson had four in 1980 as a fifth-round draft pick.
- Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders was the last Falcons rookie to record five interceptions in a single season, and he did so in 1989. Sanders was a first-round draft pick.
- Watts' five interceptions are tied for second most in the NFL with four other players. The other four have been in the league since at least 2022.
-- Falcons safety Jessie Bates III intercepted Stafford in the second quarter and returned the ball 34 yards for a touchdown. Bates has now recorded a pick six in each of his three seasons with the Falcons. He is the only player in the NFL with a pick six in each of the last three seasons.
- That was Stafford's 32nd career interception returned for a touchdown, tying former quarterback Brett Favre for the most all-time.
-- Falcons punter Bradley Pinion pinned punts at the Los Angeles 9-, 11- and 12-yard lines, putting him at 32 punts this season pinned within the 20-yard line. That not only leads the NFL — New York Jets punter Austin McNamara has 30 — but also set a new Falcons single-season record.
-- Kicker Zane Gonzalez made a 51-yard field goal with 25 seconds remaining in regular to push the Falcons ahead of the Rams. Gonzalez has made his last five clutch field goals, which means they either tied the game or took the lead in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime. That's the longest such streak of his career. Three of the instances have come with the Falcons, too. There was Monday's 51-yarder. He also had the 43-yarder in the Falcons' Week 15 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with four seconds remaining and the 45-yarder in the Falcons' Week 11 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers with 21 seconds remaining.
-- Falcons running back Bijan Robinson totaled 195 yards rushing and 34 yards receiving against the Rams. That puts him at 1,445 yards rushing and 810 yards receiving this season. He is the only player in NFL history to record at least 1,400 yards rushing and at least 810 yards receiving in a single season. (Read more about Robinson’s record-setting performance.)
FACTS TO SIP ON
-- Robinson had 138 yards from scrimmage at halftime. The Rams, as a team, had 113.
-- The Falcons led 21-0 through two quarters. It was the first game in which the Falcons held an opponent scoreless until the halfway mark since 2021, when they did so against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. The Falcons led 10-0 at halftime and ultimately won 27-25.
-- Quarterback Kirk Cousins has started six games for the Falcons this season. Atlanta scored at least 24 points in four of those games. When Michael Penix Jr. was the starting quarterback in the other nine games, the Falcons also had four games with at least 24 points.
-- The Falcons are 3-0 since being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. It's the only time this season Atlanta has won three consecutive games.
-- The Falcons are 4-1 in prime-time games this season, tying the franchise record for prime-time wins in a season. They also had four prime-time wins in 2012 and 2017. Atlanta finished those seasons 13-3 and 10-6, respectively. The best the Falcons can finish out 2025 is 8-9.
QUOTING RAHEEM MORRIS
On Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell Jr. making plays against Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua with second left in the fourth quarter…
"We know who Puka is. He's a contested-catcher killer. To watch A.J. go up there and not panic and be able to play the football at the highest point so we can have incomplete passes right there is absolutely outstanding. … A.J. just keeps fighting every single week versus some of the best receivers in the National Football League."
QUOTING THE FALCONS
Safety Jessie Bates III
On what the win versus the Rams means for overall team morale…
"It says a lot about our team, the foundation of our team. Any other 6-9 team, I think you start seeing those guys point fingers, and they don't get better. They get worse. That's the complete opposite of what we've shown in the second half of the season."
QUOTING THE OPPONENT
Rams head coach Sean McVay
On the loss to the Falcons overall…
"Here we are again in a disappointing situation, but this is a humbling league and we got humbled."
GAME LEADERS
Top passers
- Rams: Matthew Stafford | 22-of-38 for 269 yards, 2 touchdowns (3 sacks, 3 interceptions)
- Falcons: Kirk Cousins | 13-of-20 for 126 yards, 1 touchdown
Top rushers
- Falcons: Bijan Robinson | 22 carries for 195 yards, 1 touchdown
- Rams: Kyren Williams | 13 carries for 92 yards
- Falcons: Tyler Allgeier | 10 carries for 23 yards
Top receivers
- Rams: Xavier Smith | 4 receptions for 67 yards
- Rams: Terrance Ferguson | 2 receptions for 54 yards, 1 touchdown
- Rams: Colby Parkinson | 6 receptions for 53 yards
Top tacklers
- Falcons: Divine Deablo | 10 total tackles, 7 solo
- Rams: Kam Curl | 9 total tackles, 6 solo
- Rams: Omar Speights | 8 total tackles, 3 solo
LAST CALL
The Falcons (7-9) host the Saints (6-10) on Sunday for the Week 18 rematch and regular-season finale. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. FOX will carry live-game coverage.
The Saints are coming off a Week 17 win of their own, defeating the Tennessee Titans by a score of 34-26.
New Orleans has won its last four games. Atlanta has won its last three.
The Falcons and Saints first faced in Week 12 in New Orleans, where Atlanta won 24-10.
