Falcons’ Fortunes Taking a Dive

Forget the road to the Super Bowl for the Atlanta Falcons. Now, it’s more like the road to ruin.

The reigning NFC champions fell to 0-3 Sunday with an embarrassing 35-7 loss to the St. Louis Rams, who have not had a winning record this decade. Quarterback Kurt Warner led St. Louis to touchdowns in its first four possessions and ran for a fifth score in the second half.

“They beat us in every way you can get beat,” Falcon Coach Dan Reeves said. “If you don’t play well and you make some mistakes and the other team plays well, anybody can beat you. I didn’t think we were going to be 0-3, but there is nothing in this league that can shock you.”

The Rams (2-0) have lost 99 games in the 1990s, but they caught the Falcons at the perfect time: coming off a open date against a team that played Monday night and lost its top offensive player, running back Jamal Anderson. The Rams were in control from the start as they ended a losing streak at eight games against NFC West opponents.

St. Louis started by grinding out a 17-play, 80-yard drive capped by Robert Holcombe’s one-yard touchdown run. Warner, who was 17 for 25 for 275 yards, then threw touchdown passes of 38 yards to rookie Torry Holt, 46 yards to Isaac Bruce and 17 yards to Marshall Faulk as the Rams took a 28-0 halftime lead. It was Warner’s second consecutive game with three touchdown passes.

In addition to the game, the Falcons lost quarterback Chris Chandler, who re-injured the hamstring that kept him out of Monday night’s loss at Dallas. Chandler was injured late in the first half without contact while scrambling.