Rams running back Todd Gurley, the former Georgia star, was held to less than 100 yards rushing for the 16th consecutive game and was not happy about it.
After rushing for 61 yards on 16 carries, he erupted.
Gurley said the Rams looked like “a middle-school offense” and he questioned the effort of his teammates.
He felt some of them were “just going through the motions” in the Falcons’ 42-14 rout on Sunday.
The Falcons’ defense has had a tough time starting games.
It looked like the Falcons’ trend of giving up a touchdown on the opening drive was going to continue. Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff drove the Rams to the 16-yard line in the first quarter.
But on third-and-3, a pass skidded off the hands of wide receiver Kenny Britt into the waiting arms of free safety Ricardo Allen.
The Falcons had given up a touchdown in the previous six games on the opening drive.
Things went downhill fast for Gurley and the Rams’ offense.
“We’ve got to play,” Gurley said. “I don’t care if we’re out of the playoffs or not. Just come up, show up and play. That’s why we play this game — show up and play.”
Gurley didn’t place the blame on embattled coach Jeff Fisher.
“No, the coaches aren’t out there playing,” Gurley said. “The coaches don’t have anything I to do with it. This is us. We’re on the field.”
The Falcons were elated with the early stop.
“For us to go out there and get a stop after the offense scored after the big turnover was good for the defense,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “We stepped up as a unit this week and are just trying to continue to finish strong.”
In addition to the interception, Allen had six tackles and one pass defensed.
“It was real good because I went to (coach Dan Quinn) before the game and I was like, ‘Man, I’m going to be the one to set it off this week,’ “Allen said. “It was good to actually back up what I was saying. We needed to start fast. We needed somebody to do it. So I went for it.”
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