Gotta hand it to the Dirty Birds. They sure know how to put on a prime-time show.
Problem is, if the show they put on was more frequent and consistent this season, the Falcons would have been counting the days to their own postseason appearance rather than being a spoiler in some other team’s championship quest.
But here they are, in Week 17, surviving their own mistakes to get a 27-24 win at home against the LA Rams, who were counting on a victory over the home team to give Monday Night Football viewers a crash course on why they got to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth. All this Monday night at the Benz proved was how fickle and unpredictable the game of pro football can be. Only for the Falcons, this time, it didn’t end in disaster.
The Falcons, playing for pride/jobs/respect with a 7-9 record, dominated the first half of the game, racking up 21 unanswered points against LA. Seven of those points came thanks to Bijan Robinson. His highlight reels are probably filling up ESPN’s hard drives by now, but last night, he added one more explosive play to attest to his now well-known awesomeness.
Late in the second quarter, Robinson, after getting a shovel pass from QB Kirk Cousins, sliced through a gaggle of Rams and flew 93 yards into the endzone. All Rams CB Roger McCreary could do after fruitlessly chasing Robinson down the field is exaustedly look up at Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s shuttered roof and wonder how anyone could catch #7 if he couldn’t.
Robinson put 195 rushing yards on the board from 22 carries. He became the team’s all-time single-season scrimmage yards leader. Rewriting the record books is Bijan’s specialty.
22 carries
5 receptions
2 touchdowns
229 scrimmage yards🔥 @Bijan5Robinson pic.twitter.com/YgfxWfGNSS
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) December 30, 2025
“He’s the best player in football. It’s as simple as that,” said Falcons coach Raheem Morris. The coach famously says, “stats are for losers,” but nothing about this week’s Baller of the Week’s stats deserves to be in the same sentence as the word “loser.”
Not that Bijan was the only star performer on MNF. Cousins racked up 126 passing yards, went 13 of 20 for a touchdown. Devine Deablo got SEVEN solo tackles. The sack-happy team as a whole got three more of them last night. The Falcons got 345 total yards, most of them coming from one person: Bijan Robinson.
As great as the team performed in the first half, the second half saw the Dirty Birds backsliding enough that the Rams staged a comeback that viewers and commentators outside of Falcons Nation would have been anointing the “comeback for the ages” had the 3-score rally been successful. The Rams racked up three touchdowns in the second half, one of which came from the usual pathetic performance by the Falcons’ special teams. Zane Gonzalez kicked a field goal that got blocked, then the ball landed in the hands of the Rams’ Jared Verse, who ran 76 yards, unencumbered by anyone in a Falcons jersey, to score. There’s no denying that special teams needs more TLC than any other part of the Falcons crew come offseason.
Between Falcon mistakes, missed opportuntees, and the luck of a late aborted catch on a Rams last minute drive that wasn’t called for pass interference, it’s a wonder this didn’t end up another depressing loss in the Falcons’ home turf, but they held the Rams at bay long enough so that Gonzalez could redeem himself by winning the game with a 51-yard field goal.
With the regular season ticking away (the final game is next Sunday at home against the Saints), Falcons Nation is torn between appreciating the third straight victory that shows this team has heart and a fighting instinct, and the nagging irritation that if they had done more of the things that got them these wins earlier in the season, the Falcons coming days in the playoffs would be on the team’s calendars.
The Falcons beat the Rams. What in the world just happened?!?
— Chris Thomas – Turtle (@CThomasRadio) December 30, 2025
3 straight wins now sorta like a slim picking 1:30am strike at the bar…
Feels like you did something but you can never brag about it to anyone.
— John Fricke (@JohnFricke) December 30, 2025
That was intense #falcons
— Ali Mac (@AliMacRadio) December 30, 2025
That was a hell of a win by Atlanta, and that’s why the Falcons drive me absolutely bonkers lol
— Jeanna Kelley 🏝️🥥 (@jeannathomas) December 30, 2025
Falcons win.
Almost blew it.
Last minute game winning drive by Cousins.
Longest winning streak in Raheem history.How the F are we eliminated from this division?
This #@$% is crazy.
Oh well good night. 😜
— steakshapiro (@steakshapiro) December 30, 2025
It will forever be frustrating to me this is a team that won’t be in the playoffs.
— Maria Martin (@Ria_Martin) December 30, 2025
how it felt watching that game pic.twitter.com/XSbAPcNeAm
— Kelly Price (@thekellyprice) December 30, 2025
Still, a prime time audience got another glimpse of what it’s like to be a fan of the Atlanta Falcons.
An emotional rollercoaster that can end in heartbreak, or, like last night, measured excitement that leaves you wondering what could have been.
NOTES:
Injuries have been a problem for the Falcons all season long, and they got another one Monday: Brandon Dorlus left the game with a knee injury. Morris said the injury didn’t look good, and no updates were provided as of this writing. Dorlus has been a key part of the Falcons’ defense.
From Fox 5’s Lexi Bowden…
Bijan ends the night with 229 scrimmage yards vs. the Rams.
The last player to have MORE vs. Rams was Saquon Barkley- 302 yds Nov 24, 2024.
Before that? DeMarco Murray on Oct. 23, 2011 !!! – 253 yds (this would’ve been a really cool stat if not from Barkley’s baller game 😂)
— Lexi Bowden (@lexibowden_) December 30, 2025
The Falcons are 4-1 in primetime games. Maybe they should play under the lights more often.
From Next Gen Stats: Robinson’s 163 rush yards from 12 personnel were the most of any player in a game this season. His forced 11 missed tackles and 168 extra yardage is tied for the most in any game over the last seven seasons. Aren’t you glad he’s on OUR side?
Carolina will be very interested in Sunday’s game because if the Falcons beat the Saints on Sunday and they defeat the Bucs, the Panthers will have sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Who had this situation on their minds when this season started?
