Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta Falcons Matchup Preview 10/20/19: Analysis, Depth Charts, Daily Fantasy

Looking to come back strong in your fantasy football league? Look no further than our 2020 fantasy football rankings which will give you the best shot at success next season. If you are interested we also have our 2020 fantasy football defense rankings. We have everything you need rankings wise as well as DFS & full season projections. Don’t go another day without using our tools to success.

The Rams started their season 3-0, but have been 0-3 since. They’ve had a couple of disappointing losses, including being beaten by a 55-point performance from the Buccaneers and being nearly shut down by the 49ers last week. Goff has not been playing like the quarterback he was last year, and has matched his 7 touchdowns on the year with 7 interceptions. He also has an overall passer rating of 80.8. However, this matchup is a fantastic chance for Goff to redeem himself, as the Falcons have allowed the 3rd highest passer rating in the league with 119.2. The Falcons secondary has been the main reason they’re only 1-5 so far this season. Matt Ryan has been playing well, and had a great game against the Cardinals on Sunday. He 30-36 for 356 yards and 4 touchdowns with a passer rating of 144.9. The Rams are the favorites on Sunday, as I’m predicting that the Falcons secondary isn’t going to be able to contain their offense. Click here for more matchup details and betting information on the Rams @ Falcons matchup.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, October 20th, 2019
Time: 10:00 AM PST
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Coverage: FOX

Injury Report:

Rams: Malcolm Brown (Q), Clay Matthews (O), Aqib Talib (O), Todd Gurley II (Q)
Falcons: Blidi Wreh-Wilson (Q), Keith Smith (Q), James Carpenter (Q), Adrian Clayborn (Q), Julio Jones (Q), Desmond Trufant (Q), Ricardo Allen (Q)

Los Angeles Rams Analysis

The Rams played a horrible game against the 49ers. They were almost completely shut down. The 49ers allowed Goff to complete just 13 of 24 passes for 78 yards, for a passer rating of 60.8. They were able to run for 109 yards without Gurley, which is pretty impressive against the 49ers front line, but it wasn’t enough to get them the win. The Rams were held to just 187 yards of offense, which is an incredibly low number for a usually high-powered offense like theirs. A big part of the Rams offensive struggle has been because of Jared Goff, who hasn’t been playing as well as last year. He has 7 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on the season, with an overall passer rating of 80.8. Goff has fumbled the ball 6 times over 6 games, only having one game this season without a fumble. He’s been turning the ball over a lot of this season, and no matter how good an offense is, it’s going to be hard to win games when you’re turning the ball over so much. Luckily for Goff, he’s looking for a possible redemption this weekend against the Falcons pass defense, which has allowed the 3rd highest passer rating this season.

The Rams made a huge acquisition just yesterday, trading their 2020 first round pick and their first and fourth round picks for 2021 for Jalen Ramsey. Jalen Ramsey is one of the best shutdown corners in the league, and is definitely going to make an impact for the Rams. Furthermore, with Aqib Talib having been placed on injured reserve, they’re going to need the support that Ramsey can give them. Matt Ryan and the Falcons’ passing game has been playing well this year and it’ll be a good test of Ramsey’s potential in this defense to see how well they can handle the Falcons pass offense.

Los Angeles Rams Depth Chart

QB: Jared Goff
RB1: Todd Gurley*
RB2: Malcolm Brown
WR1: Brandin Cooks
WR2: Robert Woods
WR3: Cooper Kupp
TE: Gerald Everett

Atlanta Falcons Analysis

Matt Ryan had a huge game on Sunday. He threw 30-36 for 356 yards and four touchdowns, for a passer rating of 144.9. Despite these fantastic numbers, the Falcons still lost by one point to the Cardinals. Unfortunately, this has been the story of the Falcons so far this season. They put on pretty good offensive performances, but have only won a single game. Their defense has been the major reason for their 1-5 record this season. They’ve allowed an average of a 119.2 quarterback rating and an average 8.3 yards per attempt, both 30th in the league. They’re also last in the league for 3rd down stops, allowing opponents to convert 56% of their third down attempts. No matter how well Matt Ryan is playing, if their defense is this weak they’re going to be outscored. I’m expecting this to be the case against the Rams. The Falcons only have 5 sacks on the season. The Rams showed on Sunday that they can be shut down by a good pass rush, but it doesn’t seem like the Falcons aren’t going to be able to apply that pressure.

It’s going to be interesting to see the matchup between Julio Jones and Jalen Ramsey on Sunday. Ramsey is known for his ability to shut down elite receivers. Against the Texans, for example, he held DeAndre Hopkins to just 5 receptions and 40 yards. If Ramsey can shut down Jones, they’re going to have an even harder time keeping up with the Rams. Fortunately, they have other options on offense. Despite being a tight end, Austin Hooper is the leading receiver on the Falcons with 42 receptions and 480 yards on the year. So if Julio Jones is shut down by Ramsey, it isn’t the end for their passing game, which means they’ll be staying in it.

Atlanta Falcons Depth Chart

QB: Matt Ryan
RB1: Devonta Freeman
RB2: Ito Smith
WR1: Julio Jones
WR2: Calvin Ridley
WR3: Mohamed Sanu
TE: Austin Hooper

Daily Fantasy

Cooper Kupp is going to be a definite start on Sunday. Teams have been tearing up this Falcons secondary, and Kupp is a huge talent. I’m almost positive he’s going to have a huge game. If you’re looking for a wavier add, Darrell Henderson might be a good pickup. He was in use for the first time since week 1 and had a pretty good game. If Gurley is out still, he’s probably going to get the ball on Sunday and with the way Atlanta’s defense has been letting opponents run, he has the potential for big points. Austin Hooper is also going to be a good choice, if you have him on your team. The Falcons have had a pretty consistently good passing game (except for a couple of games) and Hooper is a very important part of their passing offense. He’ll be getting a lot of targets, especially if Julio Jones is shut down by Ramsey.