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Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan capped his regular season with a win over the Rams.

It was over when ...
St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger couldn't connect with Donnie Avery on fourth-and-10 from Atlanta's 37-yard line with just over a minute remaining.

Game ball
Falcons running back Jerious Norwood stepped out from his understudy role for the play of the game -- a 45-yard touchdown run with 3:50 left for the winning score. Atlanta drove 80 yards on six plays during its winning drive.

Key stat
The Falcons were dominated in time of possession, had three turnovers and no takeaways, but were perfect (3-for-3) on their red zone attempts.

Noteworthy
The Falcons will be the No. 5 seed in the NFC after the Panthers captured the NFC South title with a win over the Saints. ... Michael Turner scored his club-record 17th touchdown of the season on a 9-yard run in the second quarter. ... Roddy White set the team single-season record for receiving yards (1,382), breaking Alfred Jenkins' mark (1,358) from 1981. ... Quarterback Matt Ryan is the first Falcons quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season since 1998.