Coach Dan Quinn said that in the Falcons’ first loss, Thursday against the Saints, they got burned.
Quinn said that against the Redskins on Sunday, the Falcons’ offense struggled with turnovers, causing them to play with fire, but they escaped with the win in overtime.
Quinn said the Falcons learned a lesson Thursday against the Saints about what happens when they don’t control turnovers.
“Our philosophy is about the ball,” Quinn said. “(The game) was this really clear illustration of when we don’t take care of it, it makes playing like we want to play really hard.”
The Falcons suffered from three turnovers in their 31-21 loss to the Saints.
Quinn said the two turnovers in the red zone were the most critical because they could have been touchdowns, or at least field goals, and trimmed the deficit after the Saints took their early 14-0 lead.
“I think three or four of the eight turnovers for us (this season) have happened (in the red zone),” Quinn said. “I think the truth is, we have a really good team and we didn’t play like we were capable of, and we own that and we control it.”
Quinn said he knows his team can play better through the rest of their regular season and division schedule.
After the Saints gained the early lead, their special teams blocked a punt for a touchdown that changed the momentum of the game.
Quinn said the Saints caused the Falcons to make several mental errors.
“We had more mental errors in this game than we had in previous ones,” Quinn said. “(We) didn’t play football like we like to play in terms of the takeaways and creating opportunities for the offense. Give New Orleans credit on that.”
Quinn said after a tough fight in New Orleans, the Falcons are optimistic about the remainder of their season because they know that can control future mistakes.
After a short week of preparation for their Thursday night game, the Falcons have 10 days to prepare for their next game, against the Tennessee Titans (1-3) on Oct. 25. Quinn said the Falcons will use the extra days to rest, treating the break like a “mini bye week.”
Quinn said that every player in the NFL is usually “dealing with something” at this time in the season. He said the Falcons will approach the break as three days to rest their bodies and be ready to face the Titans.
Just like the players, Quinn said the coaching staff will use the time to evaluate where they are in the season and how they can improve in the coming weeks.
Quinn said the aspects the Falcons’ coaching staff will reiterate to the players will be controlling the line of scrimmage on offense and defense, improving tackling and protecting against turnovers.
“During this time, it’s also a good window for us to take a look through the six games (and see) the things we’re doing really well, and here are the things we need to improve,” Quinn said. “It’s still going to come back to fundamentals like crazy.”
Quinn said the team’s pass rush is another area they’re working on improving. He said coaching staff will emphasize again this week the importance of communication on defense.
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