The Falcons return to practice Monday after a losing to the Saints on Thanksgiving and being eliminated from the playoffs.
It will interesting to see how they handled the final four games of the season. In 2018, they won their final three meaningless games to finish 7-9 and drop their draft position from No. 5 to 14th.
The Falcons (3-9) are set to host Carolina (5-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Here are five things to know about the Falcons on Monday:
1. Moment of silence. Former Falcons quarterback Pat Sullivan, who won the Heisman trophy at Auburn, died Sunday. He went on to be a successful businessman and head football coach at Texas Christian and Samford.
2. Open roster spot. Look for the Falcons to add a tight end today. They have an open roster spot after releasing punter Ryan Allen and linebacker Jermaine Grace. The were down to one tight end, Carson Meier, in the Saints game after Jaeden Graham left with a knee injury. Luke Stocker (back) and Austin Hooper (knee) were already injured. With Allen released, Matt Bosher is ready to return.
3. Return to practice: The Falcons have a "Bonus Monday" practice today starting at 11:50 a.m. Players will be available in the locker room. Dan Quinn will speak to the media and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter later in the day.
4. Lindstrom update. The Falcons are hoping to get a look at right guard Chris Lindstrom, who suffered a broken foot in the season opener. After giving up nine sacks and 13 quarterback hits against the Saints and six sacks and 13 hits against Tampa Bay, the offensive line could use a healthy Lindstrom.
5. Who was responsible for the sacks. Falcons coach Dan Quinn helped out our "film review report card" blog by giving us a breakdown of who was responsible for the nine sacks against the Saints. Quinn broke down all nine of the sacks.
“So there was nine in total for the entire game, and I thought for New Orleans, there was three that I thought were on coverage,” Quinn said. “They’re rushing coverage, working together, and that happened where to go, where they were guarded or what have you. Then there was two each on (left tackle Jake) Matthews and (right tackle) Kaleb McGary. So, two each on them. One each on (running back) Devonta (Freeman) and (right guard) Jamon Brown. At the end of the day, just to have nine is totally unacceptable to have that, and then couple that with the turnovers, that’s where it was at.”
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