The Falcons ran out to to a commanding lead against the Rams in the first half Sunday even as many of their key players headed to the locker room with injuries.
They included five starters, none of who returned to the game after leaving: fullback Bradie Ewing (shoulder), running back Steven Jackson (thigh), cornerback Asante Samuel (thigh), defensive end/linebacker Kroy Biermann (ankle) and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (foot).
Reserve defensive end Cliff Matthews (neck) also was injured but returned to play in the second half.
Falcons coach Mike Smith offered no updates on the injured players after the game. The Falcons play at Miami Sunday followed by home games against New England and the New York Jets before a bye week.
The injuries didn’t do much to slow Atlanta’s domination of the Rams in the first half. The Falcons led 24-3 at halftime and then pulled out the 31-24 victory while getting contributions from reserves such as running back Jason Snelling, linebacker Joplu Bartu, cornerback Robert McClain and defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi.
“It was tough,” Smith said. “A lot of guys stepped up on both sides of the ball today. Their role changed from the opening kickoff to the end of the game.”
The Falcons got by without the injured players but losing any of then for a significant time would be a challenge to the team’s depth. Samuel, Biermann and Weatherspoon are especially important because of the lack of experienced players behind them.
The Falcons have been relatively fortunate with injuries during Smith’s time as coach. During the 2009 season quarterback Matt Ryan missed two games with a turf toe injury and running back Michael Turner missed five games with a high ankle sprain but the Falcons otherwise have avoided major injuries to key players.
The injury problems Sunday started on Atlanta’s fifth play of the game with Ewing. Jackson, playing against his former team, left with the game after finishing the drive with a touchdown catch.
Matthews was hurt on the ensuing kickoff and the casualties later in the half were Samuel, Biermann and Weatherspoon. Biermann had to be taken to the locker room in a cart because he couldn’t put weight on the injured right ankle.
For Samuel, Ewing and Weatherspoon the injuries are more hard luck after they had ailments during training camp.
Samuel was hobbled by the thigh injury during the exhibition season and sat out the season opener at New Orleans last week. Ewing missed all of last season with a knee injury and sat out most of 2013 training camp with an unrelated injury. Weatherspoon missed a week of camp after he suffered an open dislocation of his finger.
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