Atlanta's young, talented cornerback duo didn't just get schooled Sunday, they got "old-schooled."

Try as he might to suppress a smile, Torry Holt chuckled at the suggestion.

"Yeah, we had our times against them," Holt said. "It was a tremendous challenge, something I was looking forward to — coming in and going against these guys with their speed and their strength."

The Falcons should be set for years to come at corner with DeAngelo Hall and Chris Houston. But on this day, the Rams' golden oldies at wide receiver — Holt and Isaac Bruce — were in vintage form in a 28-16 victory over Atlanta at the Edward Jones Dome.

Holt, 31, caught six passes for a season-high 135 yards and a touchdown. By the numbers, the 35-year-old Bruce had a much quieter day with four catches for 31 yards. But his acrobatic, one-handed grab of an 8-yard TD pass from quarterback Gus Frerotte gave the Rams a 21-0 halftime lead and all the points they would need. But just barely.

It wouldn't be a Rams game these days without coach Scott Linehan's squad jumping to a sizable early lead and then hanging on for dear life at the end. The Atlanta game marked the fifth straight game in which the Rams had a double-digit lead. But they squandered those leads in losses to Seattle and Cleveland.

Unbelievably, it would have happened again if Rams defensive backs Tye Hill and Oshiomogho "O.J." Atogwe hadn't come up with clutch plays in the closing minutes. Trailing 21-16 with 2 minutes 19 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Atlanta faced a fourth-and-7 from the St. Louis 9.

Instead of kicking a field goal, Atlanta coach Bobby Petrino went for the touchdown and the lead. Hill wasn't surprised.

"What have they got to lose?" Hill said. "They're just like us. So I definitely wasn't expecting them to kick a field goal."

Hill certainly didn't look surprised when Falcons quarterback Chris Redman threw to Joe "Hollywood" Horn over the middle. Hill's coverage was so good, he actually had a better chance to catch the ball than Horn.

"He played pretty good defense on me on that one," Hill said. "We knew when times got tough in the red zone, they were going to try to attack our inside. All I did was stay inside and do what I was supposed to do."

The Rams took over on downs with 2:14 to play but weren't out of the woods — much less the dome — with a victory just yet. That's because the St. Louis offense, sputtering once again in the second half, went three and out.

By virtue of an Atlanta timeout, the 2-minute warning and an incomplete pass, the Falcons still had 1:45 to get something done when they took over at their 48. But on the next play, Atogwe ended the suspense, intercepting Redman's overthrown pass intended for Michael Jenkins, who was running a deep corner route.

"I was just fortunate to be in position," Atogwe said. "I got a good read on the quarterback. The guys up front put tremendous pressure on (Redman) and caused him to loft the ball up a little bit."

That gave Atogwe time to get to the ball for his career-high fifth interception of the season — and his fourth in as many games. This prompted left tackle Alex Barron to officially begin an Atogwe-for-Pro Bowl campaign.

"O.J., I just want a postcard from Hawaii," Barron teased. "That's all I want."

All Scott Linehan has wanted all season is a home victory. Finally, three months and 12 games into the 2007 season, he has one. Running back Steven Jackson made sure by rambling 50 yards for the Rams' final touchdown of the day on the second play following Atogwe's INT.

"It has been a long season for a number of reasons, and we have to defend our home turf," Linehan said. "We had some turnovers in the second half that made the game tougher than we wanted it to be, but having enough points on the board to finish the game is something we just haven't been able to do."

The Rams (3-9) have won three of four after their nightmare 0-8 start. And they are winless no more in the dome after dropping their first five home contests this season.

"Winning three of the last four, and gaining some momentum with how we're playing when a lot of people thought we weren't playing for much, I think shows a lot about the heart and character of this team," Linehan said.

jthomas@post-dispatch.com/314-340-8197