LOS ANGELES -- Matt Ryan had barely sat down to begin his usual post-kickoff, pregame preparations when he had to rush onto the field. A Rams rookie had fumbled the opening return, and the Atlanta Falcons had the ball at the 3.It was a pleasant surprise, said Ryan, who threw a touchdown pass on the first snap.The whole day was a series of fun surprises for the Falcons, whose playoff chase is picking up steam.Ryan passed for 237 yards and three touchdowns and Atlanta forced five turnovers in a 42-14 victory over the spiraling Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.Deion Jones returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown, and Vic Beasley forced a fumble by Jared Goff and returned it for another TD during Atlantas comprehensive pummeling of the Rams (4-9), who have lost four straight and eight of nine in their increasingly miserable homecoming season.Tevin Coleman caught a TD pass and rushed for another score for the Falcons (8-5), who opened up a 42-point lead in the third quarter and stayed atop the NFC South alongside Tampa Bay with their fourth win in six games.This is the kind of game where it shows you that all the hard work youve been putting in is paying off, said Beasley, whose three-sack performance was punctuated by that remarkable strip-sack and score. Its definitely a great feeling, especially for a defense thats been giving up a lot of points. To go out there and dominate them just shows what we can be as a defense.Even without injured receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, Atlanta had little trouble from the opening kickoff, which was fumbled by Rams rookie Michael Thomas .Justin Hardy immediately caught a TD pass, and the day never got better for the Rams and embattled coach Jeff Fisher, who tied Dan Reeves NFL record with his 165th career coaching loss.Its offense, Fisher said after the Rams put up 312 yards and didnt score until the fourth quarter. Were not moving the ball consistently. Were not converting on third downs, and were not scoring points. Its the problem.Todd Gurley rushed for 61 yards and eventually scored the Rams first points in one of the teams ugliest performances of their 10th consecutive losing season.It looked like a middle school offense out there, Gurley said.Goff went 24 of 41 for 235 yards with two interceptions and a fumble. The No. 1 overall draft pick fell to 0-4 as a starter with a trip to Seattle looming Thursday.If there was ever a game to put behind you quickly, its this one, said Goff, who scored his first NFL rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. Were not having fun. Were not enjoying this. Its awful.RYANS RECORDRyan surpassed 4,000 yards passing for the sixth consecutive season, tying Peyton Manning for the second-longest such streak in NFL history.HOME WOESFisher was booed heavily in the Coliseum, where the Rams havent won since their home opener Sept. 18. The Rams have scored only five touchdowns in five games at the Coliseum -- one fewer than the Falcons managed on Sunday.BREAKING IT OPENColeman scored on a short screen pass on Atlantas first snap of the second quarter. The rout began moments later when Jones made an exceptional leaping interception and returned it down the Atlanta sideline for a score. Ryan hit a wide-open Taylor Gabriel for a 64-yard TD pass on the Falcons opening drive of the second half.EFFICIENCYAtlanta, the NFLs highest-scoring team, needed just 286 yards of offense to post its fourth 40-point game of the season. For us to be plus-5 in the turnover margin, that was the key, Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.INTERESTING STARTThomas was filling in for regular kickoff returner Benny Cunningham, who missed the game with a neck injury. Ryan hit Hardy with a TD pass on the first snap. Thomas fielded the next kickoff cleanly, drawing a Bronx cheer from Coliseum fans.INJURIESFalcons: Jones couldnt play due to turf toe, and Sanu is out with a groin injury.Rams: Cunningham is also their backup running back, and his replacement at that spot, Malcolm Brown, also fumbled in the third quarter. ... S Maurice Alexander stayed down for a long time after a hard hit in the third quarter. He eventually stood and sat on a cart to leave the field. He was ruled out with a concussion. ... DE Robert Quinn missed his second straight game with a concussion.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Yoenis Cespedes Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Wilson Ramos Mets Jersey . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/keith-hernandez-mets-jersey/ .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Custom New York Mets Jerseys . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Brandon Nimmo Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Yokohama Stadium will host the baseball and softball competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Yokohama was among the venues approved Wednesday by the IOC executive board for the five new sports on the Tokyo program, along with karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.The Yokohama stadium, which was built in 1978 and has an artificial surface, is one of Japans best known baseball venues.Yokohama Stadium with its downtown skyline will provide a spectacular backdrop for Olympic baseball and softball, said Riccardo Fraccari, president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation. This is an exciting day that takes baseball and softball one step closer on the historic road to Tokyo 2020.Discussions are continuing, meanwhile, on the possibility of staging some preliminary-round baseball games in the Fukushima region. Japanese organizers have proposed holding some events in the area to support the countrys recovery from the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.Three potential baseball venues in Fukushima are under consideration. Any proposal would still need formal IOC approval.Tokyo organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori said there were no concreete discussions Wednesday about playing games in Fukushima, but added: We want to bring comfort and encouragement to people in the affected areas.ddddddddddddBaseball and softball are returning to the Olympics in Tokyo after being dropped following the 2008 Beijing Games. They were approved as a joint bid largely because of their big popularity in Japan.The four other additional sports will be making their Olympic debuts.Karate will be held at the famed Nippon Budokan venue in Tokyo; skateboarding and climbing at the Aomi Urban Sports Venue, a temporary facility in the capital; and surfing at Tsurigasaki Beach in Chiba prefecture.Tokyo will have a total of 39 venues for the Olympics and Paralympics, including eight new permanent venues, 22 existing sites and nine temporary facilities.The venue approvals came as Tokyo seeks to reduce the cost of the games after the original budget soared to several times its original estimate. IOC officials told Tokyo organizers last week they would not accept a proposed budget of up to $20 billon, demanding further cuts. ' ' '