Falcons 101: Rams series history

The Falcons and Rams have played 76 games since 1966 in one of the more storied series in the Falcons history. In the 50 plus years the Falcons have been around, they played the Rams every year from 1966 to 2005. Since 2005, Atlanta has only played the Rams four times in those 11 years. Let’s take a brief look at this series.

Overall team records

In the 76 games played, the Rams have essentially dominated the series no matter where it is played or who is playing. For example, the Rams have three winning streaks of at least six games, with two of those stretching to seven games. As a whole, the Rams have won 47 games in the series.

The Falcons, conversely, have won 27 games out of the 76 and have two winning streaks of four games throughout the series. They are also in the midst of a three game winning streak that goes back to 2008.

The two teams have tied twice: once in 1970 with a score of 10-10 and then once again a year later with both teams scoring 20 points.

Biggest win/biggest loss

Just as a reminder, this section is primarily focused on score differential, so while some games in the series may have been bigger than others, we’re going to look at the margin of victory.

In light of that, the Falcons biggest victory came on Oct. 1, 1972 when the Falcons beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-3 in Atlanta. Bob Berry, Dave Hampton and Ken Burrow each played a big role in getting Atlanta a big win pretty early in that season.

Now, Atlanta’s biggest loss is a big, big loss. On Dec. 4, 1976, the Atlanta Falcons visited Los Angeles with a 4-8 and, thanks to Pat Haden and Lawrence McCutcheon, left L.A. with a 4-9 record after getting waxed 59-0. The Rams actually hit the 59-point mark again 20 years later when they beat the Falcons 59-16.

Things start to get better

In the last five games in the series, the Falcons are 4-1 with three of those wins coming in the last three contests. Prior to that, though, there was very little sustained success for the Falcons against the Rams. It is pretty well-documented that the Rams have more consistent success than the Falcons, but the script has changed very much recently.

Series quick-hitters

• Matt Ryan is undefeated against the Rams with a 3-0 record. Ryan has five touchdowns, two interceptions, and a completion percentage just under 70 percent.
• The Falcons are 1-1 against rookie quarterbacks this season with a win and loss against Paxton Lynch and Carson Wentz, respectively.
• Jeff Fisher’s Rams lost their only game against Atlanta during his tenure so far with the Rams—they were in St. Louis at the time.
• Finally, the Falcons have a chance to put Jeff Fisher at the top (bottom?) of the list for losingest coach in NFL history if they win on Sunday.

The Falcons and Rams play in Los Angeles on Sunday at 4:25 EST. You can catch the game on FOX or on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta.

Any data or stats are from pro-football-reference.com unless otherwise stated.

Do you think the Falcons continue their recent trend and get the W on Sunday?