FLOWERY BRANCH – After going 4-11-1 in 2020, practically no one projected that the Cincinnati Bengals would reach the Super Bowl.
Their quick turnaround, led by quarterback Joe Burrow and a dazzling array of wide receivers, has given downtrodden teams around the NFL hope that they can become relevant more quickly than in times past.
The Falcons (3-3), whose record hasn’t been over .500 since the end of the 2017 season, are set to face the defending AFC-champion Bengals (3-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
“I think you just have to take it one game at a time, and you’ve got to get hot at the right time,” Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota said. “I felt like Cincinnati, toward the end of last year, going into the playoffs, they were probably the hottest team in the league.”
Both teams lost their first two games this season and have won three of their past four.
For the Bengals, the start has been disappointing after reaching the third Super Bowl in franchise history. For the Falcons, who moved on from quarterback Matt Ryan after 14 seasons and are playing with an NFL-record amount of dead salary-cap space, their record is astonishing.
There are 10 teams with 3-3 records in the middle of the pack. Only Buffalo, Kansas City and Philadelphia have looked like dominant teams.
In the NFC, the Rams, Packers and Buccaneers were expected to be title contenders, but have looked rather pedestrian.
So, with 11 games to play, there will be teams in the 3-3 pack that are going to make a move.
“I think at the end of the day, you just have to get in the tournament,” Mariota said. “That’s what we talk about all the time. The fact of the matter is, if you can play well and get yourself into the tournament, anything kind of goes, and they’re a great example of that.”
Falcons coach Arthur Smith believes the Bengals’ run perhaps was inspiring for some franchises.
“Obviously, Cincinnati had a lot of success,” Smith said. “Went on a good run all the way down to the last possession of the Super Bowl. They are 3-3 like we are. Been in a lot of close games. They’ve got a lot of really good staff and personnel.”
The Falcons were 7-10 in Smith’s first season. Expectations for his second team were not high. Some prognosticators predicted only a couple of wins, and Las Vegas set the over/under at 4.5 wins.
Smith and his staff, given the salary-cap handcuffs, have the players buying into their plans and playing extremely hard.
“Well, I think it’s never perfect, but I think we played really well situationally, and that comes in every phase,” Smith said. “The games within the game.”
Smith cited the Falcons’ play right halftime Sunday against the 49ers. The Falcons were up 21-14, and the 49ers were at least trying to get a field goal, and they were going to receive the second-half kickoff. The Falcons came up with an interception and then stopped the 49ers on their first drive of the third quarter to maintain control of the game.
He saw more growth after the Falcons scored to make the score 28-14, then pinned the 49ers back. They gave up yards, but no points as the clock continued to run.
“The way we were playing and to make them eat that clock, that’s being in tune and staying disciplined in that situation,” Smith said. “That is where I saw a lot of growth as a team.”
Before beating the 49ers, the Falcons played in five one-score games and were 2-3. They needed late defensive interceptions to pull out wins over Seattle and Cleveland.
The wins helped the Falcons’ confidence.
“Yeah, I mean you need to be rewarded,” Smith said. “You don’t want to sit here and talk about moral victories. You need some results, for sure, to build that confidence. I mean, you can see it, but you want to be rewarded by those wins and thankfully, we are.”
The Falcons, as they have been all season, are heavy underdogs against the Bengals.
“Obviously, not where we want to be, and we know that we have a huge game this Sunday, and it’s a long journey,” Smith said. “You see it every year. Some teams start 8-0, 10-0, and at the end of the year, they may limp into the playoffs, but I mean you want to be improving, hopefully playing our best ball in December and January.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor has been impressed with how Smith has the Falcons playing.
“So, very similar to us in terms of how their games (have) played out,” Taylor told the Cincinnati media Wednesday. “I’ve got a lot of respect for how they’re playing football right now. They’re doing a great job on offense, being efficient in the passing game, pounding the run game at people.”
Smith has blended several offensive systems to come up with an attack to fit the Falcons’ skill set.
“It’s really a blend of multiple systems,” Taylor said. “To turn into one really finely tuned system that Arthur’s put together. ... I’m seeing so many things that Marcus Mariota has done since his college days, and he’s really excelled at it. Then you see the 22 (two backs, two tight ends), 13 personnel (one back, three tight ends) stuff that you saw from Tennessee.
“They’ve matched all the play-actions from Tennessee and San Francisco, and all that kind of stuff is blending. ... So, it’s really a blend of systems that they’ve turned into the Atlanta system. And it really, really makes it tough on your defense.”
The Falcons appear to have weathered what was projected to be a tough start to the season with games against three playoff teams from last season (Rams, Bucs and 49ers) and two playoff contenders last season (Saints and Browns).
If they can pull out a win in Cincinnati to get over .500, the schedule appears to get a little softer.
After Cincinnati, the Falcons play the Panthers (1-5), Chargers (4-2), Panthers (1-5), Bears (2-4), Commanders (2-4), Steelers (2-4), Saints (2-4), Ravens (3-3), Cardinals (2-4) and Bucs (3-3).
The only team left currently with a winning record is the Chargers.
Could the Falcons get hot and make an improbable playoff run as the Bengals did last season?
“I’m not going to give you the Jim Mora Sr. quote, no,” Smith said. “But, we’re just focused on Cincinnati.”
Playoffs? Did someone say, playoffs?
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The Bow Tie Chronicles
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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