Time running out for Falcons entering game vs. Colts
Arthur Smith, the coach of the Atlanta Falcons, is running out of time. Following a depressing 9-7 loss to the weakest team in the league, the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta is now 6-8 and one game behind the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Bucs in the dreadful NFC South. The Falcons’ best chance to qualify for the postseason would be to finish the regular season with three straight victories, beginning with a Sunday home game against the Indianapolis Colts. However, winning out is not a requirement.
After a fruitful tenure as the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, Smith is in his third year of employment and is aware of the repercussions of losing games. “We all know what we signed up for,” he stated. “I adore this game because of this. You want to play professional football and be scrutinised. This isn’t what this is if you want to be comfortable and don’t want to do that.”
While Falcons owner Arthur Blank said this week he would wait until after the season to make a decision on Smith’s future with the team, the coach’s seat got hotter with the defeat against the lowly Panthers. Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder connected on 12 of 20 passes for 152 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Even considering the rainy conditions, that wasn’t good enough, which is why Smith is making a QB change for the third time this year, ping-ponging back to Taylor Heinicke. A former Washington Commanders starter, Heinicke took over for Ridder prior to the Falcons’ Week 9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and started a Week 10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals before Smith went back to Ridder.
“When my number’s called, I go out there and I’m the starter,” Heinicke said, “and I do the same thing when I’m a backup. I think you go there and take it a play at a time. If your sole goal is to win and you win, that’s going to take care of everything else.” That’s a position Indianapolis (8-6) has put itself in despite losing rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson to a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 5. Gardner Minshew has gone 6-4 as the starter, including a 30-13 home win over Pittsburgh last week that made the Colts 5-1 in their past six games. Minshew overcame a slow start to complete 18 of 28 passes for 215 yards with three touchdowns against the Steelers.Just as important, running back Trey Sermon stepped up in the absence of Jonathan Taylor (thumb) and Zack Moss (arm) to log 88 yards on 17 attempts as Indianapolis scored the game’s last 30 points to move into a three-way tie for first in the AFC South. Moss did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, while Taylor took part in his first full practice Thursday and is moving closer to a return. Indianapolis wide receiver Michael Pittman (concussion) was a limited participant Wednesday and full participant Thursday.
Isaiah McKenzie, a wide receiver, and Tony Brown, a cornerback, were also suspended by the Colts early in the week for actions that were detrimental to the organisation. On Thursday, kicker Matt Gay’s hip was limited. Shane Steichen, the first-year coach of Indianapolis, stated, “I believe that there are standards here and that we need to hold people accountable.” That concludes it. After missing practice on Wednesday, offensive lineman Kaleb McGary of the Falcons and defensive lineman David Onyemata of the team returned on Thursday. The last two games were missed by both. With 15 victories in 17 games, the Colts have dominated the series versus Atlanta all time. On September 22, 2019, Indiana prevailed 27–24 at home in their most recent meeting.
