Here are five things to know about the Falcons, who return to practice and start putting in the game plan for their Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers, today:
1. Sheffield expected back. Cornerback Kendall Sheffield, who started mostly at nickel back last season as a rookie, is expected back at practice Thursday. Quinn didn’t mention any specific players during his media session on Monday, but later went on the radio and spilled some injury tea. “Sheff has certainly worked hard and rehabbed part of him for his foot,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said on the Dukes and Bell show on 92.9 The Game. “He’s looking forward to getting our first practice together, which will be Thursday this week with the Monday game. We’re definitely looking forward to having him back out on the field. We’ll have a better sense after he goes through the three practices to see where he’s at, but we’re very encouraged about him for this week.”
With A.J. Terrell out on the reserve/COVID-19 list and Darqueze Dennard (hamstring) on the injured reserve list, Sheffield was listed with the first-team defense on the team’s official depth chart.
2. Green signed: Former Clemson standout T.J. Green, who was drafted in the second-round (57th overall) of the 2016 draft by the Colts, was signed to the practice squad.
3. Kicker tryouts: With place-kicker Younghoe Koo attempting to recover from a groin injury that was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Falcons brought veteran kicker Kai Forbath and former SEC standout Elliott Fry in for tryouts.
4. Series history. The Falcons (0-3) are set to face the Packers (3-0) at 8:15 p.m. Monday at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. This will be the 31st meeting. Green Bay leads the series, 16-14.
The Packers won the last meeting 34-20 on Dec. 9, 2018. The Packers raced out to 34-7 lead and put it on cruise control. The Falcons scored a couple of meaningless touchdowns to make it look like it was a close game.
5. Stat corner: In 1978, the NFL went to a 16-game schedule. From 1978 to 2020, 192 teams started the year 0-3, the average finish of those teams was 5-11. A total of six have made playoffs (3.1%) and zero have won the Super Bowl.
The best finish was 11-5 by two teams, including the 2018 Houston Texans. The worst finish was two teams that finished 0-16, with the 2017 Cleveland Browns being the most recent.
Falcons' next four games
Falcons at Green Bay Packers, at 8:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5
Panthers at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11
Falcons at Vikings at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18
Lions at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday Oct. 25
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