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ATLANTA (Ticker) -- After winning their first four games behind their $250,000 quarterback, the St. Louis Rams remained unbeaten with a big day from their $45 million running back. Marshall Faulk finally got into the act, rushing for 181 yards and a touchdown, as the Rams pounded the hapless Atlanta Falcons, 41-13, and maintained their status as the NFL's only unbeaten team. Acquired in a trade with Indianapolis and signed to a seven-year, $45 million contract during the offseason, Faulk has not had a big hand in St. Louis' surprising start. In fact, the multi-purpose running back had just one effective game this season, rushing for 105 yards and catching a touchdown pass from Kurt Warner in a 35-7 win over Atlanta on September 26. But today, he exploded. "I knew it was just a matter of time for defenses to take their eyes off me for just a minute," Faulk said. Faulk carried 18 times, including a six-yard scoring run that made it 14-0 in the first quarter. He also caught three passes for 32 yards as he shook off a hip injury. "I've just learned to play the game with bumps and bruises and I have," he said. "That's why I have been effective with minor injuries." Faulk ran for 109 yards in the first half as the Rams opened a 28-10 lead and added a 50-yard run to set up a one-yard TD vault by Robert Holcombe that made it 41-10 early in the final period. "My role has a lot of range in this offense," Faulk said. "I have to pick up the blitzes and sometimes I'm just the decoy guy. Sometimes defenses kind of let up, they play the pass or they play the run. Today they played the pass. Today was just my day. I just knew it was a matter of time to get my running game going." The Rams scored 42 points last week against San Francisco and have scored 40-plus points in consecutive games for the first time since 1958, when they were in Los Angeles. St. Louis is 5-0 for the first time since 1989. I think we're becoming a complete football team," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said. "We certainly know we can throw the ball. I'm excited we can go on the road again and win soundly." "They wanted to take away the pass today and get guys up in our face," Warner said. "Marshall did a great job today, as did the guys opening the holes. That's what this team is all about and that's why this team is 5-0." Warner, a product of Arena Football who has been one of the NFL's most valuable players this season, cooled off a bit, throwing just one TD pass after connecting for 14 in his first four NFL starts. He completed 13-of-20 passes for 111 yards. However, St. Louis stayed hot, breaking open the game with a pair of crushing long touchdown returns from defensive end Grant Wistrom and kickoff man Tony Horne in the second period. Atlanta (1-5) put up very little resistance and looked nothing like the team that reached the Super Bowl last season. The Falcons rushed for just 37 yards and committed 10 penalties. "I'm real disappointed in the way we played," Falcons coach Dan Reeves said. "We turned it over three times, we had 10 penalties, we're just not a disciplined football team right now. That is my responsibility." Quarterback Chris Chandler started for the first time in three games and was 10-of-18 for 168 yards and a touchdown. He left early in the third quarter with flu-like symptoms and did not return. "It looked like he was feeling bad in pregame warmup but he said he was OK," Reeves said. Faulk had runs of 15 and 12 yards on St. Louis' opening drive, a 76-yard march that resulted in Warner's four-yard TD toss to Isaac Bruce. It was the seventh scoring catch of the season for Bruce, who had six receptions for 48 yards. Chandler had no success on his first series and the Rams scored again. This time, Faulk caught passes of 18 and nine yards around a 30-yard run before scooting in with 2:03 to go in the opening quarter. Chandler got untracked and threw a 13-yard TD pass to fullback Bob Christian early in the second quarter. Horne fielded the ensuing kickoff one yard deep in the end zone, broke a tackle at the 20 and sped down the left sideline for his second return TD of the season. Again, Chandler marched the Falcons into scoring range. But on 1st-and-goal from the 9, he was hit as he threw and the ball fell into the hands of Wistrom, who received a pair of blocks and rumbled 91 yards untouched to make it 28-7 with 1:42 left in the half. "The ball was just floating up there and I jumped up and grabbed it, got a great block and said, 'Oh, jeez, I've got to go all the way now,'" Wistrom said. "I've never done it before in the NFL." "Two times on the road now we've hit a lull in the middle of the game, and the special teams make a big play, and then the defense makes a big play," Vermeil said. Atlanta's Morten Andersen kicked a 20-yard field goal before the half ended but the offense sputtered in the second half under Tony Graziani. He was picked off by safety Billy Jenkins, setting up a 49-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins midway through the third quarter. Faulk took a pitchout left and raced 49 yards before he was tripped up at the 6. He took the rest of the day off and Holcombe scored two plays later with 10:26 to go. "I wanted that TD pretty bad," Faulk said. Andersen added a meaningless field goal for the Falcons, who held a 316-283 edge in total yards but were swept by the Rams for the first time since 1996.
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