Within the ultimate sport of Week 17, the Atlanta Falcons host the Los Angeles Rams within the ultimate version of “Monday Night time Soccer” for the 2025 season. The playoff image received way more clear after Sunday’s video games, however there’s nonetheless some positioning and division titles on the road.
Atlanta has received two in a row with Kirk Cousins beneath heart, enhancing to 6-9 within the course of. The Falcons are enjoying out the string of their season for draft positioning, however they’ve an opportunity to throw a wrench into the Rams’ plans by coming away with one other win right here.
Los Angeles is coming off a wild, come-from-ahead loss to the division rival Seahawks final week, having undermined its personal possibilities to land the No. 1 seed within the NFC. The Rams piled up 581 yards of offense and did not flip the ball over, however their protection let up down the stretch regardless of having compelled three turnovers early on.
NFL playoff image: Ravens-Steelers determine AFC North in Week 18; Seahawks-49ers play for No. 1 seed in NFC
Tyler Sullivan
Will the Rams bounce again from their loss per week in the past, or will the Falcons make it three straight victories? We’ll discover out quickly sufficient. Earlier than we element some key storylines, here is a take a look at how one can watch the sport.
The place to observe Falcons vs. Rams
- Date: Monday, Dec. 29 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
- TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Strive free of charge)
- Observe: CBS Sports activities App
- Odds: Rams -7.5, O/U 48.5 through DraftKings Sportsbook
LIVE updates: Observe together with all of the motion because the Rams battle the Falcons on “Monday Night time Soccer.”
Key Storylines
- L.A.’s playoff hopes. The Rams can not win the NFC West because of the Seahawks’ and 49ers‘ wins on Sunday. The winner of the Seattle-San Francisco sport subsequent week is now going to be the highest seed within the convention. Meaning L.A. is enjoying to keep up its place and climb as excessive because the No. 5 seed within the NFC and retain the proper to go on the highway and play in opposition to the NFC South champion, fairly than having to go play in opposition to the Chicago Bears or Philadelphia Eagles within the first spherical. If the Rams win this week and subsequent, they’re going to be the 5-seed no matter what occurs elsewhere.
- Matthew Stafford’s MVP chase. Regardless of Drake Maye’s five-touchdown sport in opposition to the Jets on Sunday, Stafford stays the heavy favourite to win the Most Worthwhile Participant trophy. In accordance with DraftKings, Stafford is a -225 favourite, giving him an implied 69.2% chance to win. However that may clearly change in a short time if he does not put up a consultant efficiency in opposition to the Falcons on Monday night time. Stafford nonetheless leads the league in landing passes with 40 and has thrown solely 5 interceptions whereas passing for over 4,100 yards, nevertheless it’ll be attention-grabbing to see how the voters really feel about handing the award to a participant whose workforce would possibly get a wild card slot fairly than successful its personal division — particularly if he does not end the season with a bang. He has a chance to do the latter right here, although.
- Kirk Cousins making an attempt to increase his profession. Cousins’ first few appearances of this season didn’t encourage a lot confidence that he might land one other job if and when the Falcons determine to chop ties with him because of his monster cap hit for subsequent season. However he is finished higher over the previous couple of weeks (512 of 79 for 570 yards, 5 touchdowns and an interception) and if he retains it going in opposition to the Rams and Saints this week and subsequent, perhaps he might play himself into being a bridge quarterback choice for anyone subsequent offseason.
Prediction
Atlanta has won back-to-back games after dropping seven of eight … but those games came against the Buccaneers and Cardinals. The Rams, to put it plainly, are not the Bucs and Cardinals. Even without Davante Adams, I expect them to be able to move the ball with relative ease against a Falcons defense that has regressed badly since the beginning of the season. The Rams rank 10th in the NFL in yards allowed per carry and should be able to contain Bijan Robinson from going completely ballistic, and if they can get pressure on Kirk Cousins, I just don’t see a way that Atlanta can keep up.
Prediction: Rams 26, Falcons 17
