FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons, who return to practice Monday from their mini-bye, find themselves one game behind the Bucs in the NFC South with seven games to play.
The Bucs improved to 5-5 with a 21-16 win over Seattle on Sunday in Munich.
The Falcons (4-6) will seek to rebound from a 25-15 loss to the Panthers when they face the Bears at 1 p.m. next Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here are five issues facing the Falcons:
1. Get Marcus Mariota back under control: When the Falcons signed quarterback Marcus Mariota, Rich Gannon, an NFL Radio analyst and former NFL Pro Bowl player, told everyone what to expect. Gannon said Mariota would make some splash plays, but playing as a drop-back quarterback would be an issue.
“The question is, can he make the five of six throws and decisions on third-and-6, third-and-8, third-and-12 and down in the red zone where he has to sit in there and he has to take the extra hits,” Gannon said. “He has to get hit in the face and make the big throw down the middle. That’s what we have to find out about Marcus Mariota. That’s really what’s been missing from his game if you’ve really studied him in great detail over the last eight seasons.”
The Falcons were able to keep Mariota under control by leaning on the rushing attack and throwing some timely passes. Things got ugly when he started pressing and trying to make big plays after they fell behind 13-0 to the Panthers.
Because the Falcons are determined to press on with Mariota and not succumb to the pleas of the masses to play rookie Desmond Ridder, coach Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator Dave Ragone and quarterbacks coach Charles London need to make sure he’s playing within his limitations.
If Smith has to call 14 running plays in a row, run 14 running plays.
One alternative would be to put a package of plays together for Ridder and spot play him.
After the Bears, the Falcons play at the Commanders on Nov. 27 and host the Steelers on Dec. 4 before getting to their full bye in Week 14.
2. Left guard spot: With Elijah Wilkinson (right knee) and Matt Hennessy (knee) on injured reserve, the Falcons started Colby Gossett against the Panthers.
He is backed up by Chuma Edoga, and Ryan Neuzil will serve as the backup center.
Smith said the team would look at activating a player from injured reserve this week.
Jalen Mayfield, who started 16 games at left guard last season, is on injured reserve.
Edoga has been working at guard and tackle.
Gossett played all 63 plays against the Panthers and had two penalties. He may have been rusty since he had last logged full-time duty in Week 3 against the Seahawks.
3. Unleash Cordarrelle Patterson: Running back Cordarrelle Patterson was used as a kickoff returner and had five carries for 18 yards against the Panthers. He played 24 of 63 offensive snaps (38%). He had three kickoff returns for 85 yards.
The Falcons need to use Patterson like they did earlier in the season before he suffered his left knee injury that required surgery and a four-week stint on injured reserve.
Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley have done an admirable job with Patterson slowed. Now it’s time to see if Patterson can carry the rushing attack like he did earlier in the season.
Also, running back Damien Williams (ribs) is on injured reserve. He may be able to help down the stretch.
4. Get Kyle Pitts and Drake London the ball: Tight end Kyle Pitts has caught 25 of 54 targets (46.3%) for 313 yards and two touchdowns.
Wide receiver Drake London, who caught his first touchdown pass since Week 1 against the Panthers, has caught 38 of 62 targets (61.3%) for 407 yards for three touchdowns.
When Mariota seeks to pass, he must be more accurate and efficient when throwing to Pitts and London.
The Falcons have only six dropped passes (Pitts 3, London 1, Patterson 1 and KhaDarel Hodge 1), according to profootballreference.com.
5. Power up run defense: The Panthers rushed the ball 47 times for 232 yards.
Until they stop the run, the Falcons can expect a heavy dose of running plays from the opposition.
The Bears entered their game against the Lions averaging 194.1 yards rushing per game, which ranked No. 1 in the league.
Chicago’s rushing attack is led by quarterback Justin Fields, the former Harrison High, Georgia and Ohio State standout.
The Bears, after studying Lamar Jackson and the Ravens during their bye week, have implemented more designed runs for Fields.
“It compromises you a lot of times,” said former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman, an analyst for Amazon Prime. “It forces you to prepare for every look. It forces you to prepare for him as a runner.”
Falcons safeties Richie Grant and Jaylinn Hawkins will be more involved in the run defense against the Bears.
“Your free safety has to be involved regardless of what the coverage scheme is because they can create an extra gap,” Sherman said. “It’s 11-on-11 football. It’s the same thing that Baltimore does week in and week out, but the quarterback has to be willing to do it. It sounds like Justin Fields has bought in.”
Before playing the Lions, the Bears had run the ball 325 times to just 188 pass attempts.
“It’s weird that it took to the bye week to look at Ravens tape,” Sherman said. “It’s weird that it took them so long. It’s like you just woke up and realized that you have a quarterback that runs 4.3 (in the 40-yard dash). That’s strange.”
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