Ryan, Falcons learn from Super Bowl mistakes to beat Rams

LOS ANGELES — Matt Ryan knew he let a Super Bowl slip away.

That slip ate at the Falcons quarterback all offseason. The 2016 NFL MVP regretted taking a crucial sack during Super Bowl LI that cost his team 12 yards and put automatic kicker Matt Bryant out of field-goal range. That led to Tom Brady marching down the field for the game-tying touchdown and eventually a fifth Super Bowl for the Patriots.

On a slippery Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum field hosting its first Rams playoff game in nearly 40 years, Ryan wasn’t going to slip again — literally.

As Rams linebacker Connor Barwin was preparing to hit him, Ryan’s right foot began to slide back. Instead of falling and taking a sack, Ryan kept his head up and unleashed an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Julio Jones.

There was no slip up from the Falcons as they defeated the Rams 26-13 during Saturday’s wild-card matchup in front of an announced crowd of 74,300.

Atlanta’s redemption story now moves to Philadelphia for the divisional round. The Falcons opened as a 2½-point favorite over the Eagles, the top seed in the NFC.

“We’re not here just to get here,” Ryan said about returning to the Super Bowl.

Ryan’s signature lob pass to Jones gave the Falcons a 13-point advantage with 5:48 left, similar to the 13-point lead the Falcons built to open the game and nearly blew before halftime.

It appeared the Falcons were ready for another postseason collapse when the Rams scored 10 unanswered points heading into the locker room. Atlanta blew a 25-point advantage to the Patriots in last season’s Super Bowl and were the butt of every offseason joke.

Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, who was familiar with the Colisuem field from his days as USC’s coach, didn’t make the same mistake as last season’s play-caller, Kyle Shanahan, who mysteriously stopped running the ball with the lead during the Super Bowl.

Coming out of halftime, the Falcons regained momentum with a 16-play, 74-yard drive that featured 12 running plays and ended with a 25-yard field goal from Bryant to give Atlanta a 16-10 lead.

The Falcons weren’t explosive on offense and haven’t been for most of the season, but they churned out enough rushing yards with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to put Bryant within field-goal range four times, making all four kicks, including one from 54 yards. The Falcons were probably one more Bryant field goal away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in February.

Atlanta combined for 124 yards on the ground. Ryan wast 21-for-30 passing for 218 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams, the highest scoring team in the NFL, were stuck at 44 total yards of offense with 5:39 left in the first half and found themselves down 13-0 at home.

Rams coach Sean McVay didn’t panic by going away from the run early. McVay dialed up two run plays for his MVP candidate, Todd Gurley, the second going for 26 yards. Gurley finished with 101 yards rushing.

Suddenly, the Rams’ explosive offense was in business and their young quarterback Jared Goff found his rhythm. He found reliable rookie wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cut the Falcons’ lead to 13-7.

The Rams showed their lack of playoff experience during the first half. All-Pro kick returner Pharoh Cooper turned the ball over on two punts that led to 10 Falcons points.

Goff looked rattled to start the game as he rushed throws and didn’t touch the ball for nearly nine minutes while the Falcons went up 13-0. Goff finished 24-for-45 passing for 259 yards and a touchdown.

Entering the postseason, the Rams only had 21 playoff games under their belt as a team, by far the fewest in the NFC. Falcons had 143 games of playoff experience.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.