It's sad that the Atlanta Falcons game against the St. Louis Rams, a team a field goal away from leading the NFC West, has to be considered a trap game. But that's the NFC West for you, and that's what happens when you're coming down from a last-minute win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The NFC West is the only division in the NFL without two winning teams, one of only two without a six-game winner, and one of only three with multiple teams with six or more losses. Every other division has two or three teams with positive point differentials -- the West has none.
Still, the Rams are doing their part to liven the place up. 4-1 at home, St. Louis has already quadrupled its 2009 win total, though they're already starting to freak out about the rest of their schedule. Led by the league's sixth-stingiest scoring defense, they've given up more than 23 points only once.
On the other side of the ball, Rookie QB Sam Bradford is well on his way to becoming the most effective passer they've had since Marshall Faulk left Marc Bulger. In fact, Rams fans have called him "the next Peyton Manning," which, whoa. The knock on their offense is they don't have any receivers.
The Falcons need this conference win to maintain their single-game edge on the New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, and 19 other six-win NFC teams. Much more to come on this game.