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Two members of rock’s Doors joined in signage on Los Angeles street

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Raiders make it official: Gruden returns as head coach

<p>LOS ANGELES &#8212; Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons showed the upstart Los Angeles Rams what playoff poise is all about.</p><p>Ryan passed for 218 yards and hit Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown with 5:48 to play, and the defending NFC champion Falcons advanced from the wild-card round with a methodical 26-13 victory over the Rams on Saturday night.</p><p>Devonta Freeman rushed for an early score and Matt Bryant kicked four field goals for the Falcons (11-6), who spoiled the Rams&#8217; first playoff game in 13 years while showing off the postseason poise they earned from last season&#8217;s journey to the Super Bowl.</p><p>&#8220;This game&#8217;s kind of the way our season&#8217;s been, tough,&#8221; Ryan said. &#8220;We had to grind it out. Defense played really well. Offensively, we&#8217;re going against a great defense tonight. We ran the football, our guys played up front so hard, and then in the second half we started to get it going a little bit. So, I&#8217;m just proud of it.&#8221;</p><p>Atlanta never trailed at the Coliseum while winning playoff games in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.</p><p>The Falcons advanced to face the top-seeded Eagles on Jan. 13 in Philadelphia.</p><p>&#8220;Doesn&#8217;t matter where we&#8217;re going, we&#8217;re going,&#8221; Ryan said. &#8220;And that&#8217;s the most exciting part.&#8221;</p><p>Jones caught nine passes for 94 yards as Atlanta&#8217;s offense chewed up the clock and field position. The Falcons jumped to an early 13-0 lead while capitalizing on two early mistakes by Pharoh Cooper, the Rams&#8217; Pro Bowl kick returner.</p><p>The Falcons&#8217; defense did more than enough to slow down the NFL&#8217;s highest-scoring offense, harassing Jared Goff into a 24-for-45 performance in his playoff debut.</p><p>&#8220;We knew it was going to take all four quarters,&#8221; Falcons linebacker Deion Jones said. &#8220;All my guys were ready to fight &#8216;til the end, and it was great.&#8221;</p><p>Robert Woods caught nine passes for 142 yards for the NFC West champion Rams (11-6), but rookie Cooper Kupp scored the Rams&#8217; only touchdown late in the first half.</p><p>Atlanta held MVP candidate Todd Gurley to 101 yards rushing &#8212; just 43 in the first three quarters &#8212; and four receptions for a mere 10 yards.</p><p>The Falcons ruined a celebratory night for the Rams, who rebounded from a rough homecoming season in 2016 with an outstanding debut year under 31-year-old Sean McVay, the youngest head coach to reach the playoffs in NFL history.</p><p>A raucous crowd of 74,300 packed the Coliseum on a crisp evening for the first NFL playoff game in the nation&#8217;s second-largest city since early 1994. Los Angeles went 21 years without pro football before the Rams returned last season, and the franchise emphatically ended a 13-year streak of non-winning seasons this fall with an inspiring run to the Rams&#8217; first division title since 2003.</p><p>But the Falcons have been here before, and they showed it.</p><p>Although the Falcons&#8217; offense took a step back in production this season, Atlanta chipped away at the Rams&#8217; defense throughout the Coliseum return of offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, who coached USC here until 2015.</p><p>Ryan was methodical under relentless pressure from All-Pro lineman Aaron Donald, repeatedly avoiding trouble and making big throws. Freeman rushed for 66 yards, and Mohamed Sanu had a key 52-yard gain on a fourth-quarter screen pass while finishing with four catches for 75 yards.</p><p>Cooper is headed to the Pro Bowl after his outstanding regular season as a kick returner, but the second-year pro&#8217;s misadventures in his playoff debut cost the Rams dearly.</p><p>He muffed a punt that bounced off teammate Blake Countess in the first quarter, and Bryant subsequently hit the Falcons&#8217; first field goal. After Bryant&#8217;s second field goal later in the quarter, Cooper got stripped by Damontae Kazee during a kickoff return at the Rams 32, and the Falcons drove for Freeman&#8217;s short TD run.</p><p>The Rams&#8217; offense struggled to get moving, but finally figured it out late in the first half. Goff made several sharp throws on a 79-yard drive ending in Kupp&#8217;s TD catch.</p><p>Los Angeles then got the ball back and mounted another quick drive, but settled for Sam Ficken&#8217;s first field goal and a 13-10 halftime deficit.</p><p>The Falcons&#8217; offense got back to its methodical work in the second half, mounting two clock-chewing drives ending in field goals by Bryant. The Rams&#8217; defense simply couldn&#8217;t get off the field, whether due to missed tackles or clever playcalling by the Falcons.</p><p>Los Angeles trimmed the lead to 19-13 with 10:49 to play, but the Falcons made another drive highlighted by that beautiful screen pass from a blitz-avoiding Bryant to Sanu.</p><p>Jones then caught the sixth playoff TD pass of his career. Goff drove the Rams deep into Falcons territory, but L.A. turned it over on down at the Atlanta 5 with 2:05 to play. The Falcons stopped the Rams again on downs at midfield with 1:08 left.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) scores against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football wild-card playoff game Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_119550647-f2b1c1033ba943be9057f183ec6f27d4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) scores against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football wild-card playoff game Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_119550647-cc6925eb58c14ecfa0e7ff4d267a13c6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football wild-card playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_119550647-cc6925eb58c14ecfa0e7ff4d267a13c6.jpg</photo1><caption1>Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football wild-card playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_119550647-8265bc7cc0094f7ab8c5bd741bba8b0d.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football wild-card playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/web1_119550647-8265bc7cc0094f7ab8c5bd741bba8b0d.jpg</photo2><caption2>Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL football wild-card playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By GREG BEACHAM</p><p>AP Sports Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Ryan leads Falcons’ 26-13 playoff win over upstart LA Rams