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Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons visited the Coliseum late last season on their path to the Super Bowl Iman Marshall Jersey , and they easily racked up a blowout victory over the woebegone Los Angeles Rams.

When they return on Saturday night for their NFC wild-card playoff opener, they might hardly recognize the guys in the horned helmets on the other sideline.

That 42-14 loss to the Falcons was a catalyst in the Rams’ transformation from LA laughingstocks into NFC West champions, because coach Jeff Fisher was fired the next day. One month later, Sean McVay was hired to lead the most incredible one-year turnaround in recent NFL history.

”People are excited, and that was our goal when we came back here,” McVay said. ”We wanted to be able to provide a good football product that our fans can be proud of, and they want to come out and support.”

Led by the 31-year-old McVay, who grew up near Atlanta, and a roster of playmakers including Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald, the Rams (11-5) are in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. The NFC’s third seed drew a tough matchup with 2016 league MVP Ryan and the Falcons (10-6), who appear capable of making another conference run.

But the Rams expect to feed off the excitement of a city hosting its first playoff game since the LA Raiders’ last postseason trip 24 years ago.

”It’s definitely a cool thing http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/trace-mcsorley-jersey-cheap ,” Goff said. ”After football has been gone from here for so long, and we come back in Year 2 and are able to bring a playoff game to the Coliseum, that’s very cool.”

Goff, the second-year pro coming off a transformative 3,804-yard season , is eager to face off with Ryan, who is in the playoffs for the sixth time in 10 years. Both teams have a wealth of offensive playmakers, from Rams MVP candidate Gurley to star Falcons receiver Julio Jones.

The Falcons are back for their first postseason game since that memorable Super Bowl collapse against New England. That loss could have broken weaker teams, but coach Dan Quinn kept this bunch together – and now they’re the only group in the six-team NFC field that also made the playoffs last season.

”I love the resiliency and the toughness of this team,” Quinn said. ”When you’ve been through some of the fire together and you come out the other side stronger as a brotherhood, we’re certainly improved.”

Here are more things to watch when the Rams host their first playoff game in Southern California since January 1986:

BIG NUMBERS: Although both defenses are statistically solid, this game could turn into a shootout. The Falcons led the NFL in scoring last season David Montgomery Jersey , but the Rams took over the top spot this year in McVay’s worst-to-first revitalization of the LA offense. Ryan and Jones have the skills to pick at the Rams’ secondary if Donald can’t be disruptive, while Goff and the versatile Gurley are eager to make their first mark on postseason football.

NEW GUYS: While the Falcons know everything about playoff pressure, the Rams seriously lack experience: Just six of their players have been in postseason games – including star left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who went 0-6 in Cincinnati. McVay also is the youngest head coach in a playoff game in NFL history. ”That’s really not an excuse for us,” said Whitworth, who cited the Rams’ series of games against playoff-bound teams down the regular-season stretch as good experience under pressure. ”I think we just need to go out there and execute.”

CONNECTIONS: The teams’ coaching staffs have multiple ties and similarities. Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur was Ryan’s quarterbacks coach last year, although LaFleur claimed he doesn’t have much insight to offer on the star passer or the Falcons’ offense. That offense is run by Steve Sarkisian, who knows the Coliseum extremely well: He coached at USC as an assistant and a head coach until getting fired midway through the 2015 season. Rams GM Les Snead and assistant Brian Xanders are products of the Falcons’ front office, too.

TIME OFF: The Rams didn’t earn a first-round bye, but McVay essentially took one anyway by resting his biggest playmakers for last week’s regular-season finale. The decision likely cost Gurley the NFL rushing title, but should pay off with rested skill-position players. In the ultracompetitive NFC South, the Falcons had to grind into the final week to secure a wild-card spot with a 22-10 win over Carolina.

FOOT QUESTION: The Rams’ three top special-teams talents all earned Pro Bowl recognition http://www.bearscheapstores.com/riley-ridley-jersey-cheap , but kicker Greg Zuerlein is out for the season with a back injury. Zuerlein’s reliability was an enormous asset, and Los Angeles’ new kicker is Sam Ficken, who was working at a brokerage firm in Connecticut recently. If the game comes down to a kick, the pressure will be big.

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Trevor Williams has been pitching in the majors for less than two full seasons. Still, he’s come to understand the ups and downs that come with the sport.

”Baseball kicks your (behind),” Williams said. ”The highs are so high, and the lows are so low. You have to stay even-keeled.”

Williams bounced back from recent struggles by pitching one-hit ball over seven innings and two Pittsburgh Pirates relievers closed out a two-hitter in a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.

Williams (6-4) struck out seven and walked two for his first victory in a month and after he had allowed a combined 12 runs in six innings in his previous two starts. Jordy Mercer drove in the lone run with a seventh-inning double, and the Pirates won for the fourth time in five games.

The Brewers entered the day leading the NL Central but suffered their third straight loss.

The only hit off Williams was a single by Jonathan Villar with two outs in the fourth. The hit followed a walk to Hernan Perez, and the duo executed a double steal before Erik Kratz struck out to end the inning.

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle thought fastball command made the difference for Williams.

”Up, down, in, out. It was just an outstanding performance http://www.cowboyscheapauthenticstore.com/trysten-hill-jersey-cheap ,” Hurdle said.

Williams had gone 0-2 in five starts since beating the Chicago White Sox on May 15.

”He hit his spots,” Milwaukee right fielder Christian Yelich said. ”He was throwing everything for strikes. When a guy is doing that and he’s not really missing over the plate much, it’s a tough night.”

Kyle Crick pitched a perfect eighth inning for Pittsburgh. Yelich singled off closer Felipe Vazquez to open the ninth, ending a string of 13 straight Brewers retired. Vazquez retired the next three hitters for his 14th save in 18 opportunities.

Francisco Cervelli drew a one-out walk in the Pirates’ seventh and advanced to third on Josh Bell’s single. Josh Hader relieved Jhoulys Chacin and struck out Gregory Polanco, but Mercer followed by doubling down the left-field line to score Cervelli.

”The way both guys were pitching, I think everyone started to think that one or maybe two runs and that was going to be the ballgame,” Mercer said.

The run was charged to Chacin (6-2), who had won his previous six decisions and not lost in 13 starts since April 4 against St. Louis. Chacin allowed six hits, struck out two and walked two.

Cervelli had two hits to snap a 0-for-13 skid.

”I feel like I was throwing the ball well,” Chacin said. ”I was making pitches when I had to. In the last inning, I gave up the hit, but I was more frustrated that I walked Cervelli. That was the guy I couldn’t get out.”

TRIBUTE TO UECKER

As a surprise tribute to Bob Uecker Connor McGovern Jersey , the Brewers traveling party dressed in loud sportscoats – popularized by the Hall of Fame broadcaster during his frequent guest appearances on The Tonight Show – for the flight from Milwaukee to Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

Manager Craig Counsell said he had hoped to replicate an outfit Uecker once wore that included a turtleneck sweater with a belt and a pair of bellbottom slacks. Alas, Counsell came up empty in his search for such garb.

PIRATES MOVES

The Pirates activated right-handed reliever Richard Rodriguez from the 10-day disabled list, recalled infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned right-handed reliever Dovydas Neverauskas and catcher Jacob Stallings to Indianapolis.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Brewers: 3B Travis Shaw (sore right wrist) was given the night off after being injured Sunday during a swing in a loss to Philadelphia.

Pirates: Rodriguez had been out since June 7 with right shoulder inflammation.

UP NEXT

Brewers: RHP Freddy Peralta (1-0, 3.72 ERA) is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs to start Tuesday night. The rookie made two starts with the Brewers earlier this season, including striking out 13 in 5 2/3 innings at Colorado on May 13 in his major league debut, and is 6-1 with a 2.75 ERA in 12 starts with Colorado Springs.

Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (4-5, 3.94) is 2-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last four starts and 1-3 with a 3.47 ERA in seven career starts against Milwaukee.

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