Falcons receivers sit out, Rams can’t take advantage

The Rams welcomed the news Sunday — “some glimmer of hope” Coach Jeff Fisher called it — when they discovered the Atlanta Falcons would play without their two best receivers.

Mohamed Sanu was ruled out early last week because of a groin injury. Star Julio Jones, struggling with a toe injury, was deemed inactive after a pregame workout.

But the absences of Jones and Sanu made little difference for the Falcons as quarterback Matt Ryan picked apart the Rams defense in a 42-14 victory at the Coliseum.

Jones has 72 catches, five for touchdowns, and leads the NFL with 1,253 yards receiving.

Sanu has 49 receptions, three for touchdowns.

“If he wasn’t able to do the things that make him so unique we weren’t going to put him out there,” Coach Dan Quinn said of Jones. “He definitely wanted to [play] and it was today that I had to say, ‘Don’t step into it.’ ”

Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson said he expected a dogfight after spending the week preparing to shadow Jones.

“The mind-set was the same, for the most part,” Johnson said when asked how the game plan changed without Jones in the lineup. “Slight adjustments; he wasn’t playing and he was a big part of the offense.”

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After three weeks of progress, rookie quarterback Jared Goff struggled in the Rams’ 42-14 loss to the Falcons. 

Said linebacker Alec Ogletree: “They still did what they were going to do. Definitely not having him on the field takes away part of the offense, but they did a good enough job today to win the game.”

Ryan completed 18 of 28 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Nine Falcons caught passes.

“He did a good job,” safety T.J. McDonald said of Ryan. “We just didn’t do a good job on our end.”

Taylor Gabriel caught three passes for a team-best 82 yards, one for a 64-yard touchdown. Receiver Justin Hardy and running back Tevin Coleman also had touchdown receptions.

“I am really proud of how everyone stepped up with Ju and Mo down,” said Ryan, who has passed for 30 touchdowns this season. “I thought our guys really battled and competed the way you expect them to and played with a lot of confidence.”

Ogletree said he was responsible for the blown coverage on Gabriel’s long scoring play.

“I was supposed to have been back there and I got caught short ... looking at the play-action and the dude just ran over,” Ogletree said.

Said McDonald: “They screened us a lot early and they hit us one time over the top and just had some good field position.”

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