St. Louis 35, Atlanta 6

ATLANTA, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Kurt Warner threw four touchdown passes Sunday, three of them to running back Marshall Faulk, to lead the St. Louis Rams to a 35-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Rams remained atop the NFC West at 9-2 while the Falcons, who had a three-game winning streak snapped, slipped to 6-5.

Warner, who completed 13 of 18 passes for 342 yards, threw scoring strikes of 19, 9, and 65 yards to Faulk, who also rushed for 73 yards, and of 45 yards to wide receiver Torry Holt.

The Rams owned a 14-3 lead after 11:28 of the first period as cornerback Dre' Bly returned an intercepted Chris Chandler pass 56 yards with only 2:28 gone and Warner hooked up with Faulk on their first touchdown pass with 3:32 left in the quarter.

Atlanta's Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 24-yarder early in the second while missing tries from 50 and 43 yards in the first half, which ended with the Rams ahead 14-6.

In addition to trailing at the half, the Falcons lost Chandler with an ankle sprain after he had completed 14 of 18 passes for 123 yards. Warner was eight of 11 for 105 yards in the first half, but piled up 237 yards during the final two quarters.

The Rams had apparent scoring fumble returns of 70 yards and 25 yards called back in the fourth quarter.

With the game still in question to start the second half, St. Louis drove 77 and 97 yards the first two times it had the ball after intermission.

On the first march, Warner was three for three for 82 yards and ended the drive with his 45-yarder to Holt. On the Rams' next possession, Warner went four for four for 60 yards with Faulk finishing the drive with his nine-yard catch. Faulk also contributed 29 yards on three carries on the drive.

The Rams had a third and five at their own 35 with a 28-6 lead and less than eight minutes to play when Warner and Faulk completed their afternoon's work with their 65-yard connection.

The Rams have outscored the Falcons by a combined score of 197-75 in the last five games between the NFC West rivals. In St. Louis' five-game winning streak against the Falcons, the NFL's reigning Most Valuable Player has 965 yards from scrimmage -- 642 rushing, 323 receiving -- and six touchdowns.

"Marshall was Marshall. That's the way Marshall is," Rams coach Mike Martz said.

"We were real disappointed," Falcons coach Reeves said. "We didn't stand up to the test. We knew that it would take one of our better efforts to get the job done against Faulk and that offense."

In his five games against Atlanta, Warner has completed 83 of 127 passes for 1,377 yards and 15 touchdowns with two interceptions. Afterwards, he heaped praise on Faulk.

"He has such a great football mind, he adjusts real well," Warner said. "He's seeing the same things I am seeing. When you put him out there, he's like a wide receiver."

The Rams improved to 6-0 on the road.

"I think on the road, we might focus in a little more, not that we don't focus at home," Faulk said. "But I think on the road with the crowd against us, we may screw our feet into the turf a little more."

Rookie Michael Vick replaced Chandler in the second half and was seven of 18 for 94 yards and rushed for 52 yards on six carries, but failed to direct a scoring drive.

"I feel like I should have been able to do some things to put the ball in the end zone," said Vick, the first overall pick in the draft. "It starts with me. It just motivates me to keep working hard, so I can reach the point in my career that I want to be."