National Football League

Falcons left searching for answers after losing five of past seven games

Updated Nov. 6, 2023 1:30 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — The Falcons have lost two straight and five of their last seven, and while they're only a game behind the first-place Saints in the NFC South, there's a larger question to answer: Who do they really trust on this team?

They've flipped from Desmond Ridder to Taylor Heinicke at quarterback, and Heinicke had a costly turnover but did enough in his first start to score 28 points and have the lead with a minute to play in Atlanta's three-point loss to the Vikings. Afterward, coach Arthur Smith wouldn't commit to Heinicke being the starter for Sunday's game at Arizona, but he indicated as much on Monday, leaving Ridder on the bench.

The Falcons have a talented rookie in running back Bijan Robinson, who has been inconsistent of late, fumbling in the third quarter Sunday and watching from the sidelines in the fourth as Tyler Allgeier got the last eight carries and a touchdown run on the go-ahead drive. A top-10 draft pick looked on as the Falcons went with — and scored with — a player who had totaled minus-13 yards in the first half.

And they have a defense that was a top-10 unit two weeks ago, but has given up 28 and 31 points in two losses since, despite facing quarterbacks in their first games with their new teams. Rookie Will Levis threw four touchdowns in the Titans' win last week, and newly acquired veteran Joshua Dobbs came off the bench and accounted for three scores just four days after he joined the Vikings via trade.

You can trust kicker Younghoe Koo, who went 4-for-4 on field goals and hit both extra points Sunday, but even his strong presence on the scoreboard pointed to offensive woes that get worse the closer to the goal line the Falcons get.

All those areas — save Koo, of course — came together in the second half to contribute to another disappointing loss.

"Certainly a missed opportunity," Smith said postgame. "Give them credit, but yes, you can't sugar-coat it or make excuses. We had our chances, and we didn't get it done."

The Falcons gave up 21 points in the second half, and the offense played a supporting role in the collapse. After tight end Jonnu Smith's 60-yard touchdown in the third quarter, the defense forced a punt, so the Falcons had the ball and a 21-13 lead, in position to put the game away.

Instead, they committed turnovers on back-to-back plays, setting up short fields for 11 Vikings points to cede control of the game. Robinson's fumble set up a 40-yard touchdown drive, and Heinicke's interception set Minnesota up at the 24 for a field goal and the lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Atlanta's defense, playing without a leader up front in the injured Grady Jarrett, consistently got the Vikings into bad spots, and just as consistently let them wriggle out of those jams. In the final five minutes of the first half, up 11-3 and in control, the Falcons allowed Dobbs to convert on third-and-8, third-and-11 and third-and-10 on the same drive, going to halftime with just a one-point lead. Staked to a lead again with 2:08 to play, the Falcons again couldn't close out the deal, as Dobbs converted another third down, then a fourth-and-7, and then the game-winning touchdown on a third-and-4 at the 6-yard line.

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"We need to handle our business," said defensive lineman Calais Campbell, who had his third career safety, one off the NFL all-time record. "It sucks, because in the NFL, you have to win games. You don't get re-dos; you don't get do-overs. You have to win ballgames. This one definitely stings, but we knew what [Dobbs] was capable of doing. We talked about him potentially coming into the game and what kind of player he was. ... We all have to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we need to do to be accountable to one another and win the ballgame."

The headlines in close losses go to the final mistakes, but the Falcons also lost by missing countless opportunities in the first half. That 11-3 lead could have been 23-3, but three times, their offense stalled and settled for Koo field goals. A third-down conversion to the 30 was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty, leading to a punt, and a screen to Allgeier from the 25 resulted in an 8-yard loss, setting up a field goal.

A Dobbs fumble was returned to the 1-yard line, and between a penalty and questionable playcalling, they couldn't get that yard, keeping the stumbling Vikings within a score the whole time until Dobbs started to find himself.

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A year ago, it only took an 8-9 record for the Bucs to win the NFC South, and this year's division looks similarly unremarkable, with the Saints leading with a 5-4 record and the brief uptick of back-to-back wins. This week brings a seemingly easy game against a one-win Cardinals team, but if they're not careful and Kyler Murray surprises, the Falcons might lose a third straight game to a quarterback making his 2023 debut with that team.

"This week is going to test our character," Heinicke said after his first Falcons start. "Obviously, the bye week right around the corner, we've lost, what two or three in a row, so we really have to come together and try to get this win, get back to .500. Then we have [seven] games to try and take the division. It's right there for us. We just have to clean things up. We have to go out there and do it."

Greg Auman is FOX Sports' NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.