1A. The no-spin zone: On Sunday in the Falcons’ most recent outing, the Chargers converted on 8 of 16 third downs (50%).
After opening the game with two three-and-outs, the defense then gave up six consecutive third-down conversions.
On third-and-15, Justin Herbert connected with Joshua Palmer for 25 yards.
On third-and-6, he hit Palmer again for 10 yards.
On third-and-9, he found tight end Gerald Everett for 12 yards.
On third-and 2, he passed to wide receiver Michael Bandy for 4 yards.
Those four conversions led to a touchdown to make the score 10-7.
After a three-and-out by the Falcons’ offense, the Chargers converted on their next two third downs.
On third-and-1, Herbert passed to running back Austin Ekeler for 3 yards.
On third-and-5, Herbert found wide receiver DeAndre Carter for 23 yards.
The Chargers scored another touchdown to take a 14-10 lead with 36 seconds left in the second quarter.
Herbert was 6-of-6 on third downs for 77 yards during that stretch.
“Didn’t cover them,” Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees said.
The Chargers converted on long (15 and 9 yards), intermediate (6 and 5 yards) and short (2 and 1 yard) third downs.
“Well, if it’s third down, they catch the ball, does that mean that we covered them?” Pees said. “So, that means we didn’t cover them well enough. I mean, how hard is it? That’s what we did.”
The Falcons did get a three-and-out and an interception on their first two defensive possessions of the second half.
“I would think that you could see that on any TV on any third down on any game,” Pees said. “If somebody completes a pass, that means they didn’t cover them, whatever the coverage might be. That’s what I would get.”
Back in the old days, former Packers defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmur sometimes actually would explain the breakdowns in coverage or sometimes just credit the quarterback with a good throw. He also had Reggie White to get after the quarterbacks and LeRoy Butler to deploy on the best weapon.
Teams are converting on 47.46% of their third downs against the Falcons, which ranks 29th of the 32 teams in the NFL.
Pees went on a rant about the good things the defense is doing – and we’ll get to those – but the third-down situation is an issue that needs to have the light shined on it.
“OK, we’ve got to do better on third down,” Pees said. “The simple answer is we need to play better coverage or we need to get to him on the pressure. We hit this guy. This guy is one of the best quarterbacks that we played all year, and he had an 80 rating.”
Herbert actually had an 82 passer rating, which was his second lowest of the season. He had a 66.3 vs. Denver on Oct. 17.
So, on third downs, the Falcons need to play tighter coverage and get to the quarterback.
1B. More on the defense: Pees noted that the Falcons consider plays of 20 yards or more big plays and 30 yards or more explosive plays.
“What did we say last week was one of the biggest nemesis that we had going in, was giving up explosive plays on third down,” Pees said. “That was the fewest big plays that we’ve given up all season, but we are going to dwell on our third-down production in that game?
“Second-lowest quarterback rating we’ve given up, to a helluva quarterback, by the way. It is the best percentage. They threw 43 times for 245 yards. Is that pretty good? Five-something yards a catch. Is that good? Or is that bad? You guys tell me. I’d say that’s pretty good. I’d say that’s a positive.”
But he was still hot about the third-down question.
“Instead, we are always going to look for the negative,” Pees said. “Is that what we are supposed to do? Is that part of journalism? Really? I’m asking as a coach. Is everything always got to be, let’s find something negative to talk about, and this week it will be third downs.”
Pees wanted to dwell on the positives from the loss.
“There are positive things that come out of a loss, and negative things that come out of a win. ... But we are going to dwell on third down,” Pees said.
He noted that holding the Chargers to 20 points and 336 total yards was pretty good.
“What I want to say is that I walk into that room and I watch it, and I’m disappointed in a loss,” Pees said. “I’m disappointed sometimes in third down, but the other thing I’m going to do as a coach is, I’m going to teach and I’m going to coach off the positives. We are trending in the right direction.”
He said the Falcons are cutting down on the big plays and yards after the catch.
In the past four games, the yards after the catch have gone down: San Francisco (212 yards after the catch), Cincinnati (169), Carolina (142) and Los Angeles Chargers (119).
“I came out of there feeling better about the defense after a loss than I did in some games after we won,” Pees said. “That’s all I’m telling you. ... There are a (heck) of a lot of positives on defense that is trying to trend in the right direction, and our guys are busting their (expletive) to do it. I’m proud as heck of them.”
The Falcons are down both of their opening-day cornerbacks in A.J. Terrell and Casey Hayward. Also, safety Jaylinn Hawkins missed a game while in the concussion protocol.
“Do we have to get better on third down? Yes,” Pees said. “We’ve got to get better in a lot of things. We had five three-and-outs. That’s pretty good. I’ve been around defense for a long time. I am not disappointed in this defense. I’m very happy with this defense and where it’s going.”
Then he went on about society being negative and being happy the election is over.
“I’m so glad Election Day is over, so I don’t have to watch ads on somebody berating somebody else,” Pees said.
2. The matchup: The Panthers (2-7) are set to host the Falcons (4-5) at 8:15 p.m. Thursday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The Falcons defeated the Panthers 37-34 in overtime Oct. 30. The Falcons were beneficiaries of two missed kicks – a 48-yard extra-point attempt and a 32-yard field-goal attempt in overtime – and a questionable unsportsmanlike penalty.
“Thankfully, we just played Carolina,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “We’re very familiar with them. … It’s a big game for us.”
The Falcons are tied with Tampa Bay (4-5) for first place in the NFC South. The Buccaneers are set to play Seattle (6-3) at 9:30 a.m. Sunday in Munich.
The recent Panthers game will make the preparation easier for the Falcons.
“It doesn’t mean that it’ll be the same thing. They’ll adjust their plan, and we’ll have to adjust ours as well,” Smith said.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
3. Who’s at QB? Pees believes the Panthers will play two quarterbacks.
Quarterback P.J. Walker passed for 317 yards against the Falcons, including a potentially game-changing 62-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver D.J. Moore.
After a horrible start Sunday, Walker was benched in favor of Baker Mayfield, who came on and completed 14 of 20 passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. However, interim coach Steve Wilks said he plans to stick with Walker, a former XFL star. Walker was 3-of-10 passing for 9 yards and tossed two interceptions before he was yanked against the Bengals.
Wilks is sticking with Walker in part because of how he played in a win over Tampa Bay and against the Falcons. He missed a few wide-open receivers early against the Falcons before warming up. He completed 19 of 36 passes, tossing a touchdown and an interception. He finished with a passer rating of 80.4.
The Falcons will prepare for Walker and Mayfield and even look at video of Sam Darnold from last season. Darnold, who’s coming off a high-ankle injury, was activated Monday. On Oct. 19, he was designated to return and has been practicing with the team.
“Certainly, it’ll be a little different of a look than P.J. or even if they want to bring in Sam Darnold,” Smith said about Mayfield. “Obviously, we played Sam last year, and if that’s the route that they go down, or Baker. (We saw) what he did (against Cincinnati), seen enough of how they use him offensively.”
4. NFC South rumble in the rain: The forecast calls for a 99% chance of rain Thursday night. Things could get sloppy at BOA.
The Falcons know the Panthers will be ready to rumble, no matter who plays quarterback for them.
“It’s a divisional game,” Smith said. “We all know how these things go, and we’ve got to be ready to roll. It’ll be a huge opportunity for us. As bad as that felt (losing to the Chargers on Sunday), you always got to flip the page even quicker.”
5. Stopping D’Onta Foreman: Carolina running back D’Onta Foreman rushed 26 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns against the Falcons. Moore was targeted 11 times and caught six passes for 152 yards.
“Foreman is a physical runner,” Smith said. “He makes that one cut, and he gets downhill in a hurry. That’s kind of the one where he puts his foot in the ground and the one where they scored in the red zone, where I thought he ran extremely hard. I mean, he’s a talented runner.”
6. Series history: This will be the 56th meeting. The Falcons lead the series 35-20 and have won eight of the past 10 games. The Falcons have won the past four games played in Charlotte.
7. Matt Hennessy to IR: Offensive lineman Matt Hennessy, who suffered a knee injury in the 20-17 loss to the Chargers on Sunday, was placed on injured reserve Tuesday.
Safety Jovante Moffatt was promoted to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
Hennessy, who started at left guard for Elijah Wilkinson, played 50 snaps against the Chargers. He was replaced in the lineup by Colby Gossett.
The Falcons were down one safety after trading Dean Marlowe to the Bills at the trading deadline. Also, safety Erik Harris (foot) is on the injury report and was a surprise inactive against the Chargers.
Also, the Falcons signed outside linebacker Quinton Bell and center/guard Jonotthan Harrison to the practice squad and released cornerback BoPete Keyes.
8. Tale of the tape: Here’s how the Falcons and Panthers match up statistically:
2022 season rankings
Falcons / Panthers
24.1 (9t) Pts/Game 19.9 (23)
320.1 (25) Tot Off. 289.9 (30)
162.9 (4) Net Rush Yds/Game 105.3 (22)
157.2 (30) Net Pass Yds/Game 184.6 (28)
30:07 (16) Poss Avg. 25:20 (32)
25.0 (26t) Opp Pts/Game 25.3 (29)
406.9 (31) Opp Tot Off. 370.3 (27)
106.9 (8) Opp Rush Yds/Game 139.3 (28)
300.0 (32) Opp Pass Yds/Game 231.0 (21)
1 (13t) Turnover Differential -4 (25t)
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ depth chart:
OFFENSE
QB – Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder
RB – Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier, Caleb Huntley, Avery Williams
FB – Keith Smith
WR – Drake London, Bryan Edwards
TE – Kyle Pitts, Parker Hesse, Anthony Firkser, MyCole Pruitt, Feleipe Franks
LT – Jake Matthews, Chuma Edoga
LG – Colby Gossett
C – Drew Dalman
RG – Chris Lindstrom, Colby Gossett
RT – Kaleb McGary, Germain Ifedi
WR – Olamide Zaccheaus, KhaDarel Hodge, Damiere Byrd
DEFENSE
OLB – Lorenzo Carter, DeAngelo Malone
DE – Grady Jarrett, Timothy Horne
NT – Abdullah Anderson, Timothy Horne
DE – Ta’Quon Graham, Matt Dickerson
OLB – Ade Ogundeji, Arnold Ebiketie
ILB – Rashaan Evans, Nick Kwiatkoski
ILB – Mykal Walker, Troy Andersen, Nathan Landman
CB – A.J. Terrell, Isaiah Oliver, Mike Ford, Rashad Fenton
FS – Jaylinn Hawkins, Jovante Moffatt
SS – Richie Grant, Erik Harris
CB – Darren Hall, Dee Alford, Cornell Armstrong
SPECIAL TEAMS
K – Younghoe Koo
P/H – Bradley Pinion
LS – Liam McCullough
KR – Avery Williams
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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 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
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
