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Sunday, Oct. 17 1:00pm ET
Amazing Rams find more ways to win | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) -- Kurt Warner finally had one of those days when he wasn't spectacular for the St. Louis Rams, and it didn't bother him at all. Warner didn't have to do anything special Sunday as the Rams got a 101-yard kickoff return from Tony Horne and a 91-yard interception return from Grant Wistrom to remain the NFL's only unbeaten team with a 41-13 rout of the Atlanta Falcons.
Warner put the Rams (5-0) in control when he engineered touchdown drives on the first two possessions, and after the Falcons (1-5) cut the lead to 14-7 early in the second, Horne raced down the sideline for his second scoring kickoff return in two weeks. He had a 97-yarder in last week's 42-20 victory over San Francisco. Atlanta had one more chance to cut the lead to a touchdown before halftime, reaching the Rams 9, but Wistrom picked off Chris Chandler's pass and lumbered the distance for a 28-7 lead 1:42 before halftime. The Falcons never threatened to get back in the game again. Warner, who passed for 1,217 yards and 14 touchdowns in the first four games, connected on 13 of 20 for 111 yards and one touchdown. It was his lowest yardage total since passing for 275 yards and three scores when the Rams shelled the Falcons 35-7 in their first meeting in St. Louis three weeks ago. Marshall Faulk gave him all the offensive help he needed, running for 181 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, including a 30-yard run on a third-and-26 draw on the second scoring drive and a 49-yard to set up a touchdown in the final quarter. "Marshall did a great job, as did the guys opening the holes," Warner said. "That's what this team is all about and that's why this team is 5-0." Coach Dick Vermeil had praise for the Rams defense, too. "I've said all along the defense is good, and they don't get much credit because the offense has been so flashy," Vermeil said. "Today the defense was the one that provided the momentum. I think we are becoming a complete football team. We certainly know we can throw the ball."
It was another bitter loss for Dan Reeves, who steered the Falcons to the Super Bowl last year. "I'm real disappointed in the way we played," Reeves said. "We had been such a good football team last year and when you play like this it is frustrating." "I don't have any answers," Falcons cornerback Ray Buchanan said. "I don't think anybody on this team has any answers. There are a lot of questions, though." Warner passed for 36 yards and Faulk added 40 yards on five carries to account for all yardage in the first possession of the game, one that ended with Warner's 4-yard scoring pass to Isaac Bruce with 9:20 left in the opening quarter. Warner then had passes of 17 and 9 yards to Faulk in a 59-yard drive in which the Rams overcame three false start penalties to eventually score on Faulk's 5-yard run with 2:03 left in the opening quarter. Chandler, bothered by a strained hamstring, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Bob Christian to make it 14-7 just over three minutes into the second quarter -- right before Horne's kickoff return. Chandler completed 10 of 18 passes for 168 yards before leaving with 12:32 left in the third with what was called flu-like symptoms. St. Louis also got a 1-yard touchdown run from Robert Holcombe in the fourth quarter, and its other scoring came on field goals of 22 and 49 yards by Jeff Wilkins. Morten Andersen had field goals of 19 and 25 yards for the Falcons.
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