Here’s what Falcons coach Arthur Smith had to say after the 28-14 win over the 49ers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:
On QB Marcus Mariota completing 13 of 14 passes Sunday: “Yeah, that’s a really good defense. We knew we had to be efficient, and Marcus certainly was. Made a lot of really good plays. And credit to our O-line, too, because he was able to progress on a couple of plays and made some really big throws for us and made some huge plays with his legs, too. It certainly helps us. It certainly helps us stay on track and (be) efficient. Can’t say enough good things about Marcus the way he’s leading this football team.”
On whether today was what he envisioned for the offense, particularly with Mariota’s efficiency: “Yeah. I mean, certainly. You want to have a game that’s efficient. You know, both teams, similar styles, physicality. So, I don’t know that I have the play number on me. Anybody have the play total number? There were some lulls. Both teams possessed the ball for some pretty long drives. That was good defense, and we were able to run the football, too, and Marcus was a big part of that.”
On injury updates: “Not any updates. Obviously, it was nothing that we’ve got major news right now. A lot of those guys will get imaging done and meet with the doctors, and we’ll go from there.”
On how the run game supplemented Atlanta’s pass game Sunday: “Yeah, there was a lot to defend. So, whether we – some of them were designed quarterback runs, some of them where he was able to extend the plays – huge third-down conversion – because the way they like to attack the pocket, and if they drop out of there, a lot of room for him. So, that was a huge conversion before the half; he was able to get that touchdown. So those are the plays, and you gotta rush them a little bit differently. They can certainly hurt you outside of the pocket and certainly can hurt you on the quarterback run game.”
On the run defense and the play of ILBs Rashaan Evans and Troy Andersen: “Yeah, I thought obviously Rashaan called in today with Myk being out, and Myk’s been playing really well for us, and our inside linebacker group is strong. Certainly, like all of us, we’ll get back and look at the film and see what we can do better, but Rashaan had an efficient day, and so did Troy. You could feel them out there.”
On TE Kyle Pitts’ performance today: “Yeah. Part of the team. Good to have him back out there. All those guys contributed. I thought everybody helps. Maybe it doesn’t go on the stat page, but even some of the stuff our receivers do in our run game, made some critical plays when we needed them. Pruitt made a huge catch, MyCole, that’s somebody who we got a lot of faith in, got the first touchdown. (Parker) Hesse, all those guys, it was good to see.”
On young players having to step up on defense due to injuries: “Well, it’s kind of been our – it’s the kind of theme of this group. It’s our team. And it’s why we practice the way we do, and we gotta believe in everybody that’s up. There were guys that certainly weren’t up today for different reasons. These guys believe. They understood the focus. When you’re playing a team like that that does a lot of different stuff pre-snap, they’ve got some really good players, some of the better players at positions, and they were locked in. It was unfortunate, the play that Casey (Hayward) came out on, I mean, he knew exactly what was coming and read it. Again, Deebo (Samuel) is a good player, and he was able to extend a little bit, but those were huge plays. Guys were really tuned in. I thought we had a good week.”
On what a win like this does for a team’s confidence: “I think perspective. Really all season, I think this team’s been fairly confident. Certainly, there’s things that we gotta do better. That’s the whole – that’s the nature of this game. If you don’t have perspective, whether you win or lose, you can’t go back tomorrow and say, ‘Hey, what do we have to go fix? Who’s possibly going to be up next week?’ We’re not going to be satisfied. This team, we’re going to continue to grow and improve, and it’s just a fun group to coach. Really proud of those guys.”
On where he’s seen Mariota grow and what he likes about his leadership: “It’s who he is. He’s genuine. His guys believe in him, and those are things you can’t put in a stats sheet. I just watch the way these guys played. He didn’t play for 2 ½ years, so it took a couple of games. He learned some things, a little rusty here and there. But I feel like every game he’s getting more comfortable. Certainly, can make you defend a lot of things every snap. Whether we’re doing it or not, or giving you the illusion of doing it, he can put stress on people pre-snap. And our guys really believe in him. I think he’s a very accurate quarterback. I think you saw that today.”
On the importance of the two interceptions and the fumble recovery which was returned for a touchdown: “It was huge. We worked with A.J. (Terrell), and I told them the DBs are going to work with Mike Pitre on the ball security drill – going in with one hand. In all seriousness, that was a huge play. He was able to get the edge, but if Jaylinn (Hawkins) is not finishing that play, that could have been a touchback the other way. In all seriousness, we have to work on that. Great play, but we can do that better, and we need to, because that could have cost us. But by going to the ball, Hawk finishing, we were able to get the touchdown.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Oct. 30 vs. Carolina, 1 p.m.
Nov. 6 vs. Los Angeles Chargers, 1 p.m.
Nov. 10 at Carolina, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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