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ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Falcons have gone from the NFC's elite back to a laughingstock in a matter of three weeks. Returning to their 1996 and 1997 form, the Falcons were pushed around the field by the St. Louis Rams in a demoralizing 35-7 defeat that dropped the defending NFC champions to 0-3 for the third time in four seasons. "We've gone from NFC champs to NFC chumps," said Falcons wide receiver Terance Mathis. Already without star running back Jamal Anderson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Monday's loss at Dallas, the Falcons watched quarterback Chris Chandler aggravate a hamstring injury with approximately three minutes left in the first half. "I just tried to run to my left. It just kind of happened," Chandler said. "It's extremely frustrating letting the guys down." By that time it was 28-0 and the Rams were on their way to their first victory over an NFC West rival since a 30-18 win over Carolina on December 20, 1997. It was their first home victory in an NFC West game since August 31, 1997 and their first win over Atlanta here since 1996. "The team we beat today wasn't the Super Bowl team of last year," said running back Marshall Faulk, who had his first 100-yard game for the Rams. Journeyman Kurt Warner threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score for the resurgent Rams, who are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since winning their first four games in 1995, when they went 7-9. The Falcons lost their first eight games in 1996 and opened the 1997 campaign with five consecutive setbacks. "You can get beat any day, any time in this league," said Atlanta coach Dan Reeves, comparing last season's team to this one. "Any team can beat you. It was true last year. We got off to a good start, got some confidence and started playing well. But if you don't play well and you make some mistakes, you're going to get beat. "I didn't think we were going to be 0-3, but there is nothing in this league that shocks you." Robert Holcombe's one-yard plunge 10 minutes into the game gave St. Louis the lead, but Warner was instrumental in the drive, completing a 12-yard pass to Isaac Bruce on 3rd-and-10 that moved the Rams to the Atlanta 33-yard line. Warner, who completed 17-of-25 passes for 275 yards, threw his first TD pass on the first play of the second quarter, hooking up with rookie Torry Holt on a 38-yard strike. Moments later, defensive back Todd Lyght picked off Chandler and the Rams needed just one play to make it 21-0 as Warner hit Bruce with a 46-yard bomb. Bruce caught three passes for 68 yards. Warner's 17-yard scoring pass to running back Marshall Faulk with 6:35 to play in the half turned the game into a laugher. "It was fun," Faulk said. "It's really exciting to go out and score 14 points and I wasn't even in the groove yet. It's still early. We're executing, doing the little things to make the big things work." Faulk, who had a 58-yard run on the drive, carried 17 times for 105 yards, his 15th career 100-yard game. "I just went out and took what was given to me," Faulk said. "Before the game I said to myself, Just go out there and play. Pick a hole and go with it." Attempting to replace Anderson, Byron Hanspard was held to 50 yards on 17 attempts. Ironically, Anderson's three best performances of his career have been against the Rams. The Falcons got their only points midway through the third quarter as Tony Graziani found tight end Brian Kozlowski for a one-yard score. St. Louis answered shortly thereafter as Warner broke loose for a five-yard TD run. "I'm just trying to take advantage of my opportunities," said Warner. "It was a lot of fun. It seemed like they weren't going to stop us. The only way we were going to be stopped was if we stopped ourselves. It kind of felt like an Arena football game." Warner, 28, assumed St. Louis' starting quarterback job when Trent Green was lost for the year in the preseason because of a knee injury. A graduate of Northern Iowa, he has spent time in the Arena League, as well as NFL Europe. Graziani was 14-of-22 for 152 yards, while Chandler went 5-of-9 for 28 yards before departing. St. Louis broke a four-game losing streak to Atlanta and leads the all-time series, 40-23-2.
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