The dust has settled following the Falcons' abhorrent performance in Charlotte on Thursday Night Football, and while the calls for a change at the quarterback position resurfaced in a major way in recent days, Marcus Mariota will remain under center as Atlanta preps for this Sunday’s matchup with Chicago looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
In a division without a team above .500, the Falcons are 4-6 occupying second place, and head coach Arthur Smith today shut down any notion of controversy when he was asked about the ‘quarterback situation.’
“There was never a situation. Ever…You understand why the questions get asked, you lose two games in five days, and everybody wants to panic. We’re right in the middle of it; not where we want to be, but the reality is you’re right in the middle of a playoff race with a conference opponent coming in here and a game we need to win,” Smith said.
While the sight of Mariota throwing across his body, overthrowing Kyle Pitts, or nearly turning the ball over while being spun to the ground is still fresh in the minds of Falcons fans, Smith disputed the belief that a new signal-caller would provide a quick fix for what ails the Falcons.
“If we felt that one move would certainly be the difference in us winning or losing, we’d make it. We’re not at that point at a lot of spots…I know the line of questioning and your reason and where we’re at. You lose two games in a row, we're 4-6 right in the middle of it, that’s the low-hanging fruit. It’s not the reason we lost the last two games.”
The Falcons rely heavily on their running gam, which currently ranks 2nd in the NFL with 1.604 yards, but playing from behind exposed a shortcoming for the Falcons' offense—a passing game that ranks 28th in terms of total yards with 1,747. Mariota finished with 19 completions on 30 attempts with two touchdowns and an interception. The defense, still missing key pieces in AJ Terrell and Casey Hayward, was gashed for 232 yards on the ground with Carolina controlling the pace of play Thursday night in the 25-15 loss.
Through 10 weeks, it’s been a mixed bag for Mariota who, in his second stint under Smith, is completing just under 62 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and 7 picks. Mariota likely isn’t the quarterback of the future in Atlanta, and with just eight games remaining, the question at some point will become how much the Falcons can truly evaluate Ridder before the offseason.