If Baker Mayfield beats Atlanta on Thursday night, the Falcons might have only themselves to blame in more than just the traditional sense.
“Sean McVay and those guys kind of got him back on track,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback this week.
“Those guys” include Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who were with the Rams when Mayfield joined the team in December of 2022. At the time, the quarterback’s career appeared to be winding down. The Carolina Panthers had just released him, the second team to show the former No. 1 pick the door in his career.
When Los Angeles signed him two days before a Thursday night game against the Raiders, it felt like an insurance policy. Instead, Mayfield started and threw for 230 yards while leading the Rams to a 17-16 win.
“It was obviously a whirlwind,” said Robinson, who was then the Rams’ quarterbacks coach. “That game was an all-timer for a guy to come in on short notice and to be able to deliver like that in a two-minute situation (on the game-winning drive). Certainly a game that I know he’ll always remember, and us as coaches will because it was just such a cool experience.”
On Thursday night, the Falcons (2-2) will face Mayfield as the Bucs’ quarterback, and he’s a different quarterback now than he was then. Mayfield’s passer rating (95.2-86.5), EPA per dropback (.04-.01) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (2.9-1.7) have all improved since the day he joined the Rams.
“I’ve got so much respect for Baker after we got him in L.A., and he got a chance to kind of revitalize what he had lost a little bit, and we got a chance to see the energy and the passion that he plays with,” Morris said. “I think Baker is going to do whatever it takes to win a football game, and right now he’s found a nice formula of getting the ball out of his hands.”
Mayfield is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league this season. He is second in the NFL in passing touchdowns with eight while throwing only two interceptions, and fourth in passer rating (106.9) as the Buccaneers (3-1) lead the NFC South.
“He’s always been a super talented guy, super, super gritty,” Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “The guys really follow him up there. He’s a super competitor, and I think that’s what makes him special.”
Mayfield’s recipe for success this season is clear. His air yards per attempt (5.5) are the fewest in the NFL, and his average time to throw (2.68 seconds) is the fourth shortest. The ball’s coming out quick and short.
“You have to be able to go out there and take away what he’s been given so far and try to make it a little bit harder on him,” Morris said.
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‘We’re not scoring enough points’
The Falcons rank 10th in the league in yards per play (5.8) but only 22nd in scoring (18.75 ppg), while the Buccaneers rank 17th in yards per play (5.4) but 11th in scoring (24.25). That disparity is the type of thing that keeps offensive coordinators up at night.
“Yeah, it’s difficult because the biggest thing you have to do in this league is score points, and we’re not scoring enough points,” Robinson said.
The Falcons aren’t getting to the red zone enough or playing well enough when they get there. They are ranked 29th in both red zone trips (38) and red zone touchdown percentage (40 percent), according to TruMedia.
“We’re just not connected on some things that execution-wise you would think we’ll just continue to build on with a new group, getting used to each other, the continuity,” Robinson said. “We got a ton of faith, and of course, it starts with us as coaches, just making sure that everything is super clear with these guys so that they can go execute.”
Payton Turner coming in hot 😤#Saints | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/wdvMaaBLoi
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 29, 2024
Quick turnaround suits Falcons fine
The biggest challenge of the short week before Thursday night games is mental, not physical, Jarrett said.
“When the game comes, everybody is on the same playing field,” he said. “If you’ve got the mindset of whenever, wherever, however it’s got to be, you’ll be better off. We’ve kind of got to squish everything into a couple days, but it’s cool and it’s a good challenge. Everybody in the league has got to go through it, so we’ve just got to get it done.”
The Falcons did not practice Monday and held only a walkthrough Tuesday to let their players recover physically. Defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said he left his house at 3:30 a.m. each morning this week.
“Our staff is usually early-morning guys. Some staffs are late guys. We’re early,” Lake said. “But it’s gone really, really smooth.”
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Matt Ryan’s moment in the sun
Twelve days after owner Arthur Blank went into the team’s Ring of Honor, former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will join him at halftime of Thursday night’s game. Ryan, Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2008, owns every significant passing record in team history and is seventh in NFL history with 62,792 passing yards.
The Falcons, who traded Ryan to the Colts after the 2021 season, now feature him in an in-stadium, pregame hype video.
“Matt is somebody that I had watched when I was in high school and then for me to play with him for years, go to the Super Bowl with him, see him win MVP was special,” Jarrett said. “I truly admire him, and I’m grateful I got to spend time with him. He showed up and did his thing every time, never complained. I’m super excited for him. Nobody deserves it more than him.”
How will the rookie fill in for Troy Andersen?
Inside linebacker Troy Andersen, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, won’t play Thursday night against the Bucs because of the knee injury he suffered late in the Saints game. That means rookie linebacker JD Bertrand, who has played only nine defensive snaps this season, according to Pro Football Reference, is expected to start.
“JD played really well, way back into the spring, in the training camp and those preseason games,” Lake said. “He sees (the game) really, really well. It’s the reason why we drafted him. We can see and feel his football instincts. Once he arrived here, all of those traits showed up in practice. He got a few reps this last Sunday, played really well. Us as coaches, we’re expecting no drop-off. We have a lot of confidence in JD.”
The Falcons signed veteran linebacker Rashaan Evans to the practice squad this week and could elevate him to the active roster for the game. Evans, a first-round pick by the Titans in 2018, started 17 games for the Falcons in 2022 and started one game for the Cowboys last season.
(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)