FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons fell back to the pack of NFC South contenders Sunday after their bizarre 20-17 home loss to the Chargers.
Atlanta (4-5) and Tampa Bay (4-5) are tied atop the division with New Orleans (3-5) possibly joining them with a win over Baltimore on Monday night.
At 2-7, Carolina is still in the running for the division title and will host the Falcons on Thursday night in Charlotte. N.C. Atlanta had a chance to put a little space between itself and the rest of the division but came up short Sunday after an early double-digit lead against the Chargers.
Falcons defensive end Ta’Quon Graham recovered an Austin Ekeler fumble in the final minute. While running up the sideline, Graham fumbled the ball, and the Chargers recovered.
“As crazy as that fumble was, there have been some crazy things that happened this year,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said Monday. “But some have broken our way and some haven’t. That’s the NFL. He picked it up, and he was rolling.”
The Chargers moved into field-goal range, and Cameron Dicker made a 37-yard field goal at the buzzer.
“It’s hard to explain what happens with the football sometimes,” Smith said. “It bounced right back to them, and they hit the play. We couldn’t stop the clock, and he hit it.”
Here are five takeaways from the game against the Chargers:
1. Keep the committee: Cordarrelle Patterson returned against the Chargers and delivered with two rushing touchdowns.
Also, running backs Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley were productive in their roles.
Patterson showed that he was fully recovered from his left knee surgery when he turned the corner and outran the defense on a potential 38-yard touchdown run. The play was nullified by a tripping penalty by right tackle Kaleb McGary. Also, center Drew Dalman’s holding penalty was declined.
With Allgeier and Huntley being productive, perhaps the Falcons can slide Patterson over to wide receiver more to help the anemic passing attack.
Patterson had 13 rushes for 44 yards. Allgeier had 10 carries for 99 yards, and Huntley had seven carries for 34 yards.
The Falcons ran the ball 35 times for 201 yards against the Chargers, who entered the game with the 27th-ranked run defense in the league.
2. Mariota-to-Pitts flailing: It’s been nine games now and the connection between Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota and tight end Kyle Pitts has not been very productive.
They only connected twice on seven targets for 27 yards Sunday.
If they hit one of the deep balls, the Falcons are likely 5-4 and still sitting pretty alone in first place.
There’s blame to go around.
Pitts got his hands on at least two and maybe three catchable balls.
On two of the deep passes to Pitts, the ball was overthrown. On another, Mariota probably had to launch it a little bit sooner than he wanted because the pass protection was breaking down.
Pitts has caught 23 of 46 targets (50%) for 285 yards and two touchdowns. That puts him on pace for 43 catches and 538 yards.
Pitts caught 68 passes for 1,026 yards last season as a rookie with Matt Ryan at quarterback.
With Mariota, a more mobile quarterback, some drop-off was anticipated. But his history with tight ends in Tennessee was thought to be a strength.
The Falcons have the rushing attack rolling but need to get more out of the passing game in general and from Mariota and Pitts, specifically.
By contrast, wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has caught 22 of 25 targets (88%) for 331 yards and two touchdowns.
Maybe Pitts and Mariota need to stay after practice to work out their issues and the Falcons should put more on Zaccheaus’ plate.
If the Falcons don’t improve the passing attack – maybe just a little bit – they can stop all this win the NFC South talk.
3. Secondary work: With Los Angeles receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen out, the Falcons’ revamped secondary caught a major break.
The Falcons dropped back into a variety of zones and forced Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to work the underneath routes.
He completed 8 of 10 targets to wide receiver Joshua Palmer, a second-year player from Tennessee. He was taken in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Palmer finished with 106 yards, including the 22-yard catch to get the Chargers back into field-goal range after the fumbles by Ekeler and Graham.
On that play, the Falcons’ man-to-man coverage was exposed, and Cornell Armstrong was chasing Palmer on the play.
Cornerback Rashad Fenton, who was acquired from the Chiefs at the trading deadline, was active but played only on special teams.
While safety Jaylinn Hawkins returned to the lineup, cornerback A.J. Terrell missed his second consecutive game with his hamstring injury.
It might not be prudent to rush him back for the Panthers’ game. The Falcons should shoot for the Nov. 20 game against the Bears.
4. Left guard spot up in air: Just when it appeared the left guard position had stabilized, Elijah Wilkinson (knee) was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
Former starting center Matt Hennessy made his first start of the season at left guard against the Chargers but left the game with a knee injury. Colby Gossett, who started the Seattle game on Sept. 25, came on in relief.
Hennessy played 50 of 61 offensive snaps (82%), and Gossett took the remaining 11. With Wilkinson on injured reserve and Hennessy out for the Panthers’ game, the Falcons are thin at left guard.
Jaylen Mayfield, last season’s starter, remains on injured reserve.
Center/guard Ryan Neuzil, who is on the practice squad, was promoted to the game-day roster and played four snaps on special teams.
If Gossett returns to the lineup, Neuzil could end up being the backup swing guard/center.
5. Sack exchange: The Falcons knew they needed to put pressure on Herbert. When they were unsuccessful, Herbert was free to hold the ball and wait for his receivers to break open.
He stayed patient and even moved around to buy his receivers more time to get open.
The Falcons’ defense started strong with two three-and-outs and nearly had a third, but Herbert converted with a 25-yard pass play on third-and-15. It was the first of six consecutive third-down conversions, which helped the Chargers take a 14-10 lead.
The Falcons did not have any sacks and registered two quarterback hits. They had four passes defensed.
“I think our offense showed a lot of poise,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “Justin was extremely poised. He made a bunch of big plays for us. We were really good on third downs. We were 8 of 16 on third down.”
The Falcons didn’t pull out the victory, but they earned the respect of the Chargers.
“It was a tough, rugged game,” Staley said.
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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
