Falcons vs. Rams prediction, odds, pick, where to watch, kickoff time for ‘MNF’
In the final game of Week 17, the Atlanta Falcons host the Los Angeles Rams in the final edition of “Monday Night Football” for the 2025 season. The playoff picture became much clearer after Sunday’s games, but there are still positional and division titles on the line.
Atlanta has won two in a row with Kirk Cousins at center, improving its record to 6-9. The Falcons are playing down their season’s streak for draft positioning, but they have a chance to put an end to the Rams’ plans with another win here.
Los Angeles is coming off a brutal loss to its division rival Seahawks last week after undermining its own chances of clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed. The Rams racked up 581 yards of offense and didn’t turn the ball over, but their defense slowed down the stretch despite forcing three early turnovers.
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Tyler Sullivan
Will the Rams bounce back from their loss a week ago, or will the Falcons make it three wins in a row? We’ll know soon enough. Before we break down some key storylines, here’s a look at how you can watch the game.
Where to watch Falcons vs. Rams
- Date: Monday December 29 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
- TV: ESPN | Flow: Fubo (Try for free)
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Odds: Rams -7, O/U 49.5 via DraftKings Sportsbook
Key scenarios
- Los Angeles’ playoff hopes. The Rams can no longer win the NFC West thanks to victories by the Seahawks and 49ers on Sunday. The winner of next week’s Seattle-San Francisco game will now be the conference’s top seed. That means Los Angeles is playing to maintain its position and climb up to the No. 5 seed in the NFC and retain the right to go on the road and play the NFC South champion, rather than having to go play the Chicago Bears or Philadelphia Eagles in the first round. If the Rams win this week and next week, they will be in fifth place no matter what happens elsewhere.
- Matthew Stafford’s pursuit of MVP. Despite Drake Maye’s five-touchdown game against the Jets on Sunday, Stafford remains the heavy favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award. According to DraftKings, Stafford is a -225 favorite, giving him an implied probability of winning of 69.2%. But that can obviously change very quickly if he doesn’t put in a representative performance against the Falcons on Monday night. Stafford still leads the league in touchdown passes with 40 and has thrown just five interceptions while passing for over 4,100 yards, but it will be interesting to see how voters feel about giving the award to a player whose team could earn a wild card berth rather than win its own division — especially if he doesn’t finish the season strong. He does, however, have the opportunity to do the latter here.
- Kirk Cousins is trying to extend his career. Cousins’ early appearances this season haven’t inspired much confidence in his ability to land another job if and when the Falcons decide to cut ties with him due to his monster cap hit for next season. But he’s done better over the past two weeks (512 of 79 for 570 yards, five touchdowns and an interception) and if he continues like that against the Rams and Saints this week and next, maybe he could turn into a bridge quarterback option for someone next offseason.
Prediction
Atlanta has won back-to-back games after dropping seven of eight … but those games came against the Buccaneers and Cardinals. The Rams, to put it plainly, are not the Bucs and Cardinals. Even without Davante Adams, I expect them to be able to move the ball with relative ease against a Falcons defense that has regressed badly since the beginning of the season. The Rams rank 10th in the NFL in yards allowed per carry and should be able to contain Bijan Robinson from going completely ballistic, and if they can get pressure on Kirk Cousins, I just don’t see a way that Atlanta can keep up.
Prediction: Rams 26, Falcons 17
