NFL Power Rankings: Falcons Falling After Loss vs. Panthers?
The Atlanta Falcons (4-6) faced arguably their worst loss of the season this past week against the Carolina Panthers (3-7).
The offensive line fell apart and the run game never truly was established in the 25-15 loss against their NFC South rival.
To pile on another bad reason behind the loss, the Falcons slipped back to second place in the NFC South after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-5) beat the Seattle Seahawks (6-4) in Munich. Just two weeks ago, the Falcons were in first place, one game ahead of the Bucs. Now, the two teams have flipped and the Falcons are one game behind Tom Brady's Buccaneers.
However, even though the Falcons fell in the standings, they did not fall in Sports Illustrated's power rankings. In fact, Atlanta moved up from No. 20 to 19 this week.
"It looks like we will not see Desmond Ridder anytime soon," SI writes. "Good for Arthur Smith, who is remaining in playoff contention by making some unpopular decisions, and sticking up for his guys. He deserves to see the Falcons to a point where they get a stable solution at quarterback."
Smith committing to Mariota and trying to compete for a playoff spot rather than go the developmental route to play rookie Desmond Ridder earns praise from SI, and it could be the decision that makes or breaks the Falcons in 2022.
Mariota and the Falcons face the Bears on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Atlanta.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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