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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
|  | | Justin Watson celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter on Sunday. |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Who needs a kicker when you've got Marshall
Faulk and the rest of the high-flying St. Louis Rams?
Faulk rushed for 208 yards, caught seven passes for 78 more,
scored a touchdown and made two of the Rams' record-setting four
2-point conversions in a 45-29 win over the Atlanta Falcons on
Sunday.
"Incredible," coach Mike Martz said of Faulk, who has 1,083
yards from scrimmage and is on a pace for 2,888 yards. That would
eclipse the NFL record 2,429 total yards he had in 1999.
"You try to find a nick in the armor," Martz said of Faulk.
"Inside, outside wherever you want to go. Shoot, the guy's
magnificent."
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Obviously the bye week didn't have a negative effect on the Rams' offense.
The big story for the Rams today was running back Marshall Faulk (208 yards rushing
and an impressive 8.3 average). Kurt Warner and the receivers get
a lot of the headlines, but Faulk may be the most versatile performer in the
NFL.
The Falcons have to be discouraged, because they generated enough offense to
stay with the Rams till late in the second quarter.
But overall, Atlanta's problem in this game was the same one they've had all
season -- they have not been able to consistently run the football and
they're forced to throw the ball more than they want to.
The Rams are averaging 43.7 points per game, which puts them on pace for
nearly 700 for the season -- an amazing number. For Kurt Warner, this was his sixth
straight 300-yard passing game. But the big story of the game was Faulk.
Last year, before the season started, the Rams got Faulk in a trade with the
Colts -- and it was one of the best trades the Rams' organization has ever
made.
Faulk brings so much to the St. Louis offense with his versatility and his
football instincts. He's an extremely valuable performer in what has become
one of the most exciting offenses to watch in the NFL -- maybe ever.
The Rams' defense seems to have trouble early before settling down. In this
game the Rams gave up just one touchdown in the second half.
But with that high-powered offense, it's probably a question of: How good
does their defense have to be?
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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The game started ominously for the Rams when kicker Jeff Wilkins
injured a quadriceps muscle on the opening kickoff. Worse still,
Atlanta's Darrick Vaughn returned the kick 96 yards for a
touchdown.
No problem. On the ensuing kickoff, Tony Horne caught the ball 3
yards deep in the end zone, deked Gerald McBurrows at about the 25
and run untouched down the sideline.
It was the first time in NFL history a game started with
back-to-back returns for touchdowns.
Wilkins kicked the extra point after Horne's score, squibbed a
kickoff, then had to leave the game. The Rams had no backup
place-kicker, so they couldn't try field goals or conversion kicks
the rest of the way.
Martz asked for volunteers to kick off, and backup wide receiver
Chris Thomas did a decent job, squibbing most of his kicks to
around the Atlanta 20.
"That's my fault," Martz said of the absence of a backup.
"How stupid am I? Shoot, that's ridiculous."
Again, no problem. In fact, St. Louis took advantage, converting
four of five 2-point tries the rest of the way. And without the
field-goal option, the Rams twice converted fourth-down plays in
Atlanta territory and eventually scored touchdowns.
St. Louis started the season 6-0 for the second straight year.
The Rams rang up 529 total yards and eclipsed 30 points for a
record 12th straight game. They're averaging 43.7 points and are on
a pace for 699. The record is 556, set by the Minnesota Vikings in
1998.
It was another frustrating day for the Falcons (2-5), despite
their biggest point output since scoring 36 in a season-opening win
over San Francisco. The Falcons scored three touchdowns in the
first half, but just one in the second, on a 16-yard pass from
Chris Chandler to Tim Dwight.
Kurt Warner had another strong game, completing 24 of 40 passes
for 313 yards, touchdown passes to Horne, Az-Zahir Hakim and Robert
Holcombe, and one interception. It was his sixth straight 300-yard
passing game, tying the NFL record set by San Francisco's Steve
Young in 1998.
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Record breakers
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A pair of interesting NFL firsts were set Sunday in the Rams-Falcons game:
With Kurt Warner passing for 313 yards for St. Louis and Marshall Faulk rushing for 208 yards, it was the first time a team had a player rush for more than 200 yards and a quarterback pass for more than 300 yards.
It was the first time a game opened with back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns. Atlanta's Darrick Vaughn started it with a 96-yard return, but St. Louis' Tony Horne answered right back with a 97-yarder.
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Warner continues to pile up incredible numbers. He has now
thrown for 2,260 yards, easily the best six-game start in NFL
history. His quarterback rating actually dropped to 117.5, still
ahead of the record 112.8 set by Young in 1994.
Chandler was 18-for-30 for 220 yards and two touchdowns, a
16-yard pass to Terance Mathis in the first quarter and another
16-yarder to Dwight in the fourth. He was sacked three times and
intercepted once -- at the Rams 3. Jamal Anderson carried 14 times
for 64 yards and a touchdown.
The turning point came near the end of the half. Tied at 21, the
Rams faced a fourth-and-15 at the Atlanta 30. Warner, under a heavy
blitz, hit Hakim at about the 12. Hakim somehow eluded the grasp of
safety Ronnie Bradford and waltzed in for the score.
"It was huge," Falcons coach Dan Reeves said. "You've got
fourth-and-15 and whatever it was and all you got to do is make the
tackle, and we don't make the tackle."
The second half was all Faulk. He gained 139 of his yards
rushing and caught four passes for 43 yards in the final two
quarters.
Game
notes
Martz became the fourth rookie head coach in NFL history to
open a season 6-0, and the first since Red Miller of Denver in
1977. ... The Falcons scored more points (14) in the game's first
4:46 than they did in either of their previous two games. ... The
Rams have won a franchise-record 15 straight home games. ... The
Rams' four 2-point conversions surpassed the record of three by
Baltimore in 1996 and Pittsburgh in 1998. ... Martz expects Wilkins
and right tackle Ryan Tucker (sprained ankle) to miss at least next
week's game in Kansas City. Backup defensive tackle Gaylon Hyder
injured his knee and will be examined Monday. ... The Falcons
suffered several injuries that will be evaluated: linebacker Henri
Crockett (ankle sprain), running back Gary Downs (quadriceps), wide
receiver Shawn Jefferson (strained lower back), defensive tackle
Travis Hall (strained abdominal muscle), defensive tackle Ed Jasper
(sprained ankle), cornerback Elijah Williams (strain above the
knee), offensive tackle Travis Claridge (groin pull and strained
bicep) and cornerback Ray Buchanan (stubbed toe).
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
St. Louis Clubhouse
RAMpage: Faulk steps up his pace
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Coach Mike Martz was amazed with kicker Jeff Wilkins' fighting spirit.
wav: 288 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Rams' QB Kurt Warner would rather have kicker Jeff Wilkins around.
wav: 65 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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