5 things we learned from the Falcons’ 31-25 loss to the Colts

BERLIN — The Falcons did their best to remain upbeat after the 31-25 loss to the Colts on Sunday.

The players said they believe they can get on a roll and salvage the season.

“I don’t play just to participate,” rookie outside linebacker Jalon Walker said. “I play to go win. So, you know, playoffs for me is still in sight. We still have to keep our foot on the gas.”

The Falcons were built to score points on offense and have a fast and attacking defense. The offense has foundered and left the smallish defense on the field too much. The Colts kept hammering away until Jonathan Taylor ran the unit into submission in overtime.

If the offense keeps sputtering around, the Falcons defense can expect a steady diet of running plays.

Here are five things we learned from the overtime loss to the Colts.

Team morale worth watching

Surprisingly, the Falcons’ morale was fine for the most part.

“In good spirits,” Walker said. “We know that it’s been a long season. It’s the halfway mark. I know that us in the locker room, we are still with each other, like there’s no discomfort or doubt in our minds that we can go out there and be the best football team on Sundays playing.”

Walker recovered a fumble created by fellow rookie James Pearce Jr.

“I’m excited for me and James, with the opportunity that we have to impact the defense,” Walker said. “He picked up mine last week, and I picked up his this week. I just know that I have his back regardless.”

Defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus said: “I’m a winner, and every guy on this team is a winner. We’ve just go to go out there and show them. It’s tough, but we’ve got to figure out a way to do it.”

Wide receiver Drake London added: “I don’t feel great. I think I can speak for the rest of the team. They don’t feel great, either. We’ve just got to get over this hump and try to make some gains and get that first win.”

The third-down blues

Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has to deliver more on third downs. The team went 0-of-8 against the Colts. They went 1-of-10 against the Patriots on Nov. 2. They were 2-of-11 against the Dolphins on Oct. 26. They were 5-of-11 against the 49ers on Oct. 19. They are 8-of-40 (20%) on third downs over the four-game losing streak.

“I don’t know,” Penix said when asked about third downs. “It’s hard to point at one thing. We’ve got to watch the film and see. I really don’t know.”

Penix said he felt they were prepared for the Colts.

“We saw everything that we thought we were going to see,” he said. “We’ve got to go and execute. We have to do it.”

He said he knows he needs to pick it up.

“I’ve got to play better,” Penix said.

Falcons’ passing attack struggled

Morris said he thought Penix played well.

“Obviously I’ve got to look at that,” Morris said of Penix’s accuracy. “Mike played well. Mike played well like he always does. Goes through the process. We’ll figure all those things out when we get there and figure it out when we get to look at it.”

In addition to his third-down woes, Penix completed 42.8% of his passes.

“Very good defense,” Morris said. “They came out particularly on third down and hit us with some zero pressure, some fake zeros, couple different things. We had some protection issues, made us run around a little bit.”

Tight end Kyle Pitts had a big drop on a third-down play.

“We had a couple of drops,” Morris said. “Our guys came out, fought well, played hard. Michael always plays well, fights hard, along with all those guys. We’ve got to find a way to get better.”

Run defense must improve

The Falcons must fix their run defense.

“A lot of mush yards (yards after contact),” Dorlus said. “Got to do better not giving the quarterback an escape lane. That kills drives, too. Quarterback scrambling all around the field.”

The Falcons believe they can level up.