Week 17 | December 30, 2025 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA | Attendance: 69,313
Zane Gonzalez split the uprights from 51 yards with 21 seconds on the clock. Final score: Atlanta Falcons 27, Los Angeles Rams 24.
The Rams had erased a 21-point deficit — twice. They had tied the game on Puka Nacua’s 11-yard catch with under three minutes left. And then, on a drive that started at their own 28, Kirk Cousins moved Atlanta into field goal range just enough. Gonzalez did the rest.
It was a Monday night that belonged to Bijan Robinson, three Matthew Stafford interceptions, and one of the more remarkable individual defensive performances of the 2025 NFL season from a rookie safety most people outside Atlanta were still learning the name of.
Table of Contents
Robinson’s 93-Yard Run Set the Tone — and the Record Books
Stafford’s second interception of the first half, picked off by Atlanta rookie Xavier Watts, gave the Falcons the ball at their own 7-yard line. One play later, Robinson took a handoff, hit the gap, and was gone — 93 yards down the sideline and untouched into the end zone. It was the longest run in the NFL during the 2025 season and the longest in Falcons franchise history.
Robinson finished with 195 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, adding five receptions for 34 yards and another score. His 229 scrimmage yards pushed his 2025 season total to 2,255 — breaking William Andrews’ 1983 Falcons record of 2,176.
“It takes everybody for those kind of runs to happen,” Robinson said after the game, giving credit to his offensive line and Drake London’s downfield block.
Bijan Robinson — Rushing & Receiving
| Category | Figure |
|---|---|
| Rushing Attempts | 22 |
| Rushing Yards | 195 |
| Yards Per Carry | 8.9 |
| Long | 93 yards (TD) |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 1 |
| Receptions | 5 |
| Receiving Targets | 8 |
| Receiving Yards | 34 |
| Receiving Touchdowns | 1 |
| Total Scrimmage Yards | 229 |
Three Interceptions. One Very Long First Half.
The Rams were shut out 21-0 at halftime — only the third time that happened to a Sean McVay-coached team in nine seasons. All three first-half Atlanta touchdowns had a Stafford turnover at their root.
Jessie Bates III returned his interception 34 yards for a score early in the second quarter. Watts followed it with the 93-yard Robinson set-up pick. By the time the Falcons walked off at halftime, Kirk Cousins had been pressured zero times and threw only 20 passes all game.
Watts finished with two interceptions — his second, a fourth-down pick at the Atlanta 27 with 9:04 left in the fourth quarter, killed what would have been a go-ahead Rams drive. He now leads all 2025 NFL rookies with five interceptions on the season.
“Either you execute and make the throws or you don’t,” Stafford said. “And I didn’t do that tonight, so it hurt us and we weren’t able to overcome it.”
McVay was equally direct: “This is a humbling league and we got humbled tonight.”
Quarterback Comparison
| Stat | Matthew Stafford (LAR) | Kirk Cousins (ATL) |
|---|---|---|
| Completions / Attempts | 22 / 38 | 13 / 20 |
| Passing Yards | 269 | 126 |
| Touchdowns | 2 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 0 |
| Sacks (Yards Lost) | 3 (−21 yds) | 0 (0 yds) |
| Passer Rating | 64.5 | 99.2 |
| QBR | 41.0 | 71.0 |
| Avg. Depth of Target | 13.5 yds | 8.2 yds |
| Avg. Time to Throw | 3.00s | 2.53s |
| Adjusted Completion % | 67.6% | 68.4% |
The Comeback That Nearly Was
Down 24-3 in the third quarter, the Rams put together a sequence that, on another night, would have been the story of the game.
Stafford connected with rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson on a 27-yard touchdown strike to cut the deficit to 14. Then, on a blocked Zane Gonzalez field goal attempt, Jared Verse scooped the ball and returned it 76 yards for a touchdown — the first time the Rams had returned a blocked kick for a score since 1986.
Suddenly it was 24-17. Then Stafford drove 89 yards in eight plays, capping it with an 11-yard TD to Nacua. Tied at 24 with 2:46 left.
Gonzalez got his chance at redemption — and delivered.
Full Rushing Box Score
| Player | Team | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bijan Robinson | ATL | 22 | 195 | 8.9 | 1 | 93 |
| Kyren Williams | LAR | 13 | 92 | 7.1 | 0 | 22 |
| Tyler Allgeier | ATL | 10 | 23 | 2.3 | 0 | 6 |
| Blake Corum | LAR | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Ronnie Rivers | LAR | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Kirk Cousins | ATL | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
Full Receiving Box Score
| Player | Team | REC | TGT | YDS | TD | YPR | YAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier Smith | LAR | 4 | 6 | 67 | 0 | 16.8 | 39 |
| Terrance Ferguson | LAR | 2 | 4 | 54 | 1 | 27.0 | 2 |
| Colby Parkinson | LAR | 6 | 7 | 53 | 0 | 8.8 | 28 |
| Puka Nacua | LAR | 5 | 10 | 47 | 1 | 9.4 | 26 |
| Kyren Williams | LAR | 3 | 3 | 38 | 0 | 12.7 | 28 |
| Konata Mumpfield | LAR | 2 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 5.0 | 0 |
| Tutu Atwell | LAR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| David Sills V | ATL | 3 | 4 | 37 | 0 | 12.3 | 8 |
| Darnell Mooney | ATL | 2 | 3 | 35 | 0 | 17.5 | 5 |
| Bijan Robinson | ATL | 5 | 8 | 34 | 1 | 6.8 | 42 |
| Kyle Pitts | ATL | 2 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 8.0 | 4 |
| Drake London | ATL | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | 0 |
Kicking & Special Teams
| Player | Team | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zane Gonzalez | ATL | 2/3 | 66.7% | 56 yds | 3/3 | 10 |
| Harrison Mevis | LAR | 1/1 | 100% | 35 yds | 3/3 | 6 |
Note: Gonzalez’s third attempt, a 37-yarder, was blocked by Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and returned 76 yards for a Rams TD by Jared Verse. His made field goals were from 56 and 51 yards.
Punting
| Player | Team | NO | YDS | AVG | IN 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Pinion | ATL | 5 | 246 | 49.2 | 3 | 61 |
| Ethan Evans | LAR | 2 | 90 | 45.0 | 1 | 50 |
Returns
| Player | Team | Type | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Whittington | LAR | Kick | 3 | 80 | 26.7 | 38 | 0 |
| Xavier Smith | LAR | Punt | 3 | 23 | 7.7 | 12 | 0 |
| Dylan Drummond | ATL | Kick | 2 | 54 | 27.0 | 32 | 0 |
| Deven Thompkins | ATL | Kick | 2 | 39 | 19.5 | 21 | 0 |
Full Team Stats
| Category | Rams (LAR) | Falcons (ATL) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 363 | 345 |
| Passing Yards | 248 | 126 |
| Rushing Yards | 115 | 219 |
| Total Plays | 61 | 53 |
| Yards Per Play | 6.0 | 6.5 |
| 1st Downs | 16 | 15 |
| Passing 1st Downs | 10 | 9 |
| Rushing 1st Downs | 5 | 5 |
| Penalty 1st Downs | 1 | 1 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 5/13 (38%) | 5/13 (38%) |
| 4th Down Efficiency | 1/4 (25%) | 0/0 |
| Red Zone (Scored/Att) | 1/3 (33%) | 1/2 (50%) |
| Turnovers | 3 | 0 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions Thrown | 3 | 0 |
| Penalties | 4 for 35 yds | 7 for 42 yds |
| Time of Possession | 30:15 | 29:45 |
| Sacks (Yards Lost) | 3 (21 yds) | 0 |
Defensive Box Score
| Player | Team | TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | INT | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divine Deablo | ATL | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kam Curl | LAR | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Omar Speights | LAR | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Byron Young | LAR | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| A.J. Terrell | ATL | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jessie Bates III | ATL | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jared Verse | LAR | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nate Landman | LAR | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kobie Turner | LAR | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kamren Kinchens | LAR | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Watts | ATL | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kaden Elliss | ATL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leonard Floyd | ATL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ruke Orhorhoro | ATL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Dorlus | ATL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Atlanta Interceptions
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier Watts | 2 | 32 | 0 |
| Jessie Bates III | 1 | 34 | 1 |
| Team Total | 3 | 66 | 1 |
Scoring Summary
| QTR | TIME | PLAY | LAR | ATL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 6:11 | Bijan Robinson 4-yd pass from Kirk Cousins (Gonzalez kick) | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | 8:30 | Jessie Bates III 34-yd interception return (Gonzalez kick) | 0 | 14 |
| 2nd | 1:28 | Bijan Robinson 93-yd rush (Gonzalez kick) | 0 | 21 |
| 3rd | 11:08 | Harrison Mevis 35-yd field goal | 3 | 21 |
| 3rd | 7:46 | Zane Gonzalez 56-yd field goal | 3 | 24 |
| 3rd | 4:59 | Terrance Ferguson 27-yd pass from Stafford (Mevis kick) | 10 | 24 |
| 3rd | 0:31 | Jared Verse 76-yd blocked FG return (Mevis kick) | 17 | 24 |
| 4th | 2:46 | Puka Nacua 11-yd pass from Stafford (Mevis kick) | 24 | 24 |
| 4th | 0:21 | Zane Gonzalez 51-yd field goal | 24 | 27 |
Key Defensive Performances
Xavier Watts (ATL, S): The Falcons’ 2025 draft pick was the best player on the field defensively. Two interceptions, three pass deflections, 65 snaps, and a PFF grade of 82.7. His season total of five picks leads all NFL rookies.
Jessie Bates III (ATL, S): His 34-yard pick-six in the second quarter put Atlanta up 14-0 and ended any hope of a Rams first-half response.
Jared Verse (LAR, ED): The blocked field goal return aside, Verse posted six tackles, a TFL, and a QB hit. It was the first time the Rams returned a blocked kick for a touchdown since 1986.
Byron Young (LAR, ED): Four run stops, eight tackles, one TFL, and three quarterback pressures — among the few Rams defenders who held their ground against Atlanta’s ground attack.
By the Numbers: What Decided This Game
Three turnovers against zero is the short answer. The Rams’ zero points in the first half against an offense that ranked first in the NFL in scoring entering the week told the rest of the story. Atlanta never had to throw the ball — 32 of their 53 offensive plays were rushes — and Robinson made every one of them count.
Robinson’s 93-yard run stood as the longest run in the 2025 NFL season. His 2,255 scrimmage yards set a new Falcons franchise record, surpassing a mark that had stood for 42 years. Those numbers came in a season where the team around him finished 7-9.
The Rams entered the 2025 playoffs as the NFC’s No. 5 seed. This loss, their second straight, cost them home-field advantage in the wild card round — a direct consequence of three turnovers and a first half that went completely off the rails.
For a complete look at the Los Angeles Rams vs Atlanta Falcons player stats from Week 17, every box score figure is above. The numbers behind the final score tell a story of a game that was over before it started — and then very nearly wasn’t.
Stats sourced from ESPN, AP, NFL.com, and Pro Football Focus. All figures subject to official NFL review.
