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Frerotte throws three TDs as Rams beat Falcons

Dec 2, 2007 - 11:27 PM ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Gus Frerotte delivered his finest performance in over two years, more than making up for the injured Marc Bulger while leading the St. Louis Rams to their first home win of the season.

Frerotte tossed three first-half touchdown passes Sunday as the Rams held on for a 28-16 triumph over the Atlanta Falcons.

It was the third victory in the last four games for St. Louis (3-9), which got off to an 0-8 start due largely to a rash of injuries.

The latest Ram bitten by the injury bug has been Bulger, who suffered a concussion in last weekend's loss to the Seattle Seahawks and was forced to miss this contest.

Frerotte, who has struggled while filling in for Bulger this season, lost a costly fumble near the Seahawks' goal line at the end of last Sunday's 24-19 loss.

But Frerotte was brilliant early in this contest, passing for 230 yards in the first half while directing the Rams to a trio of touchdown drives over the game's first 28 minutes.

"Quarterbacks will always take a lot of heat when things don't go well, and in last weeks's game, Gus accepted that," Rams coach Scott Linehan said. "Being the stand-up competitor that he is, I can respect that more than his right arm. By the way Gus came out and competed, he really gave us a spark."

A 14-year veteran, Frerotte finished 23-of-35 for 311 yards and two interceptions. It was his highest single-game yardage total since November 13, 2005, when he passed for 360 yards against the New England Patriots as a member of the Miami Dolphins.

"I think just getting a win feels so good," Frerotte said. "After everything we've been through all year, it was really a team win."

Frerotte's favorite target was Torry Holt, who hauled in six receptions for 135 yards and a TD. Isaac Bruce and tight end Randy McMichael also had TD catches for the Rams, who have won their last five home games against the Falcons.

Rams star running back Steven Jackson rushed for 96 yards, including a 50-yard TD run with less than two minutes remaining, and had four receptions for 71 yards.

The 167 total yards were a season high for Jackson, who missed four games earlier this season while nursing injuries to his groin and back.

"I think it was just an all-out team win," Jackson said. "We started off fast and in the second half, once again, we kind of stalled out. But this time, I think the offense really came together and put it on ourselves to finish the game."

Atlanta scored 16 straight points to claw within 21-16 and appeared primed to take the lead with just under three minutes remaining.

But Chris Redman's fourth-down pass to Joe Horn was batted down by cornerback Tye Hill at the St. Louis 5-yard line, ending Atlanta's potential go-ahead drive with 2:19 remaining.

Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted Redman's poorly overthrown pass on Atlanta's ensuing possession and returned it to midfield.

Jackson raced up the left sideline on a 50-yard TD two plays later, giving St. Louis a 28-16 lead and clinching the Rams' first win here since a 37-31 triumph over the Washington Redskins on December 24.

"It has been a long season for a number of reasons, and we have to defend our home turf," Linehan said. "For me, I really felt that as a home team the fans and the team really stepped up when we needed to."

The Rams took the lead for good on the game's opening drive, as Frerotte capped an 11-play march with a 1-yard TD to McMichael.

St. Louis went ahead, 14-0, on its next possession as Frerotte found Holt for a 31-yard TD to finish a six-play, 95-yard drive.

The Rams pushed their lead to 21-0 on Frerotte's third TD of the day, an 8-yarder to Bruce with 1:55 remaining in the first half.

"Our line played great," Frerotte said. "I didn't get a lot of pressure when I was throwing the ball."

After managing just three points in the third quarter, the Falcons (3-9) rallied in the fourth quarter behind Redman, who replaced the erratic Joey Harrington.

"We made the quarterback change in the fourth quarter because I felt like Joey was being ineffective," Falcons coach Bobby Petrino said. "Chris came in and threw the ball around, hit hands, got us into a position where we had an opportunity to win the game and then we just came up on the short end."

Redman tossed a 15-yard TD to Roddy White with 11:46 remaining and found Michael Jenkins for a 5-yarder just 4 1/2 minutes later to cut Atlanta's deficit to 21-16.

Playing for just the second time this season, Redman finished 16-of-24 for 172 yards - his highest single-game total since October 6, 2002.

"It feels good to be able to get back out there," he said. "It has been a long time since I was in the game atmosphere. I had to get some of the rust off, I guess. Unfortunately, we came up a bit short today."

"Obviously, I wasn't happy," said Harrington, who went 17-for-34 for 184 yards and an interception. "But I am part of this team. I was excited for Chris to get a chance to play, and he showed that he is a good player."