FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons, who are fighting for their season, are set to face one of the league’s hottest teams Sunday when the Indianapolis Colts come to town.
The Colts have won five of six and are currently the seventh seed in the AFC playoff race. The Falcons, on the other hand, are coming off a disappointing 9-7 loss to the Panthers and must win in the home finale (Sunday, 1 p.m. at Mercedes-Benz Stadium) to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
Here’s a look at some of key players for the Colts (8-6):
-Quarterback Gardner Minshew: Free-agent signee in offseason has performed well after first-round pick Anthony Richardson was sidelined for the season with an injury. Minshew is coming off his best game of the season, completing 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards, three TDs, no interceptions and had a season-high passer rating of 123.4 in last week’s win over the Steelers.
“He was concise with his reads, his decisions, getting the ball out of his hands quick, and making plays,” Colts coach Shane Steichen told the Indianapolis media. “He just operates at a high level.”
-Running back Trey Sermon: The graduate of Sprayberry High in Cobb County - who played collegiately at Oklahoma and Ohio State - rushed 17 times for 88 yards (5.2 per carry) against the Steelers.
-Receiver Josh Downs: The rookie wideout who played at North Gwinnett High and North Carolina has 57 catches for 631 yards and three touchdowns.
In addition to Sermon and Downs, the Colts have several players with Georgia ties including cornerback Darrell Baker (Hephzibah, Georgia Southern), defensive end Isaiah Land (Grayson High), wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie (Georgia), safety Kenny Moore II (Lowndes, Valdosta State) and defensive tackle Grover Stewart (Mitchell County, Albany State).
Also, former Falcons cornerback Darren Hall is on the Colts practice squad.
This will be the 18th meeting. The Colts lead the series 15-2 and have won the last two meetings.
In the loss to the Panthers, the Falcons’ defense gave up a 17-play, 90-yard drive in the final minutes that ended with the game-winning field goal. The loss dropped Atlanta to 6-8 with road games against Chicago and New Orleans following Sunday’s home game against the Colts.
“We just have to be able to finish,” linebacker Nate Landman told The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Monday. “I don’t know what it is or what we have to do. We have to get back to the drawing board when the game is on the line and the defense is out there, that’s what we want. We just need to bow up and get it done next time. It’s something that we’ve been struggling with.”
Landman believes the team’s morale is fine.
“We understand that was a tough loss,” Landman said. “We’re not happy about it obviously. But you have to move on and we got to go 1-0 this week.”
The Falcons are hoping to revive their playoff hopes which are down to 7%, according to the New York Times’ playoff simulator.
“We’re not out of it by any means,” Landman said. “We’re not in the position we want to be in. We have to lick our wounds on this one. We’re not happy with the results. Obviously, we feel like we gave that one away. It’s time to move on. We’ve got a good opponent coming in this week.”
The Falcons are switching to quarterback Taylor Heinicke for this must-win contest.
“We have to rally,” coach Arthur Smith said. “We have to prepare, and there’s a really good Indianapolis team coming in here. We need to win this game. That’s been our message.”
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