With just two yards separating the St. Louis Rams from a 26-24 game with the first-place Atlanta Falcons, rookie quarterback Sam Bradford threw his first interception in more than a month, giving the Falcons the ball and a nine-point lead with just three minutes left in the game.
Bradford was in the process of having another excellent game, and has still been solid; he’s 22-for-32 for 204 yards, two touchdowns, and the interception. But the Rams haven’t had the ball very often—21 minutes, against 35 for the Falcons—and they’ve been reluctant to use Steven Jackson, who has 54 yards on just 11 carries and 12 touches. With two plays on the two-yard line the Rams didn’t look to him either time; on the interception they’d targeted rookie tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.
The Rams’ defense responded by forcing a three-and-out deep in Falcons territory, but the offense now has just three minutes to score twice. It’s yet another down-to-the-wire finish for a Rams team that just last week forced an unlikely overtime before losing to the San Francisco 49ers.