GREEN BAY Stitched Austin Hooper Jersey , Wis. —n two years for the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers.The participants in the NFC title game in January 2017 are floundering this season. The Packers have already fired head coach Mike McCarthy.More Packers coverage from FOX Sports WisconsinPhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Packers rookie Gary’s biggest critic is himselfTop Tweets: Former Badger TJ Watt has impressive four-year transformationPHOTOS: 2019 Green Bay Packers training campPackers’ Rodgers, LaFleur ironing out offense, building chemistryFalcons owner Arthur Blank reaffirmed support for his coach, Dan Quinn, after a four-game losing streak dropped the team out of the playoff picture.The game between the Falcons (4-8) and Packers (4-7-1) on Sunday at Lambeau Field was once circled on the NFL calendar as a potential matchup between contenders jockeying for a home game in the playoffs.Instead, it’s turned into a matchup between disappointing teams each trying to avoid a losing season.“I think what you want to do when you go through a difficult stretch is you want to make sure you take the lessons first, and when you do that, there’s something that you have to gain,” Quinn said. “Sometimes you don’t like to admit it, but that’s where the learning takes place the most.”It sounds a lot like what the Packers are going through at Lambeau, where the future is clouded by uncertainty.Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin took over as interim head coach after McCarthy was fired following the stunning 20-17 loss last week to the lowly Arizona Cardinals.A coaching veteran with a dry sense of humor, Philbin has delivered simple messages at a time of upheaval.“I told the offense, we’ve got to block, we’ve got to throw and catch, we’ve got to run hard with the ball. That’s really ultimately what wins games,” Philbin said. “Schemes are important, but not as important as playing guys together and playing with great effort and playing fundamentally sound. That’s really the focus.”The Packers have lost three straight and five of six. They need lots of help to get into the postseason even if they can somehow win their last four games.“I think everybody’s kind of realizing that we’re all under the microscope even more. Who knows what the changes are going to be after the season,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “So I feel like the energy was good today. Unfortunately the urgency that you need early in the season, we kind of had out in practice today.”Other notes and things to watch:10<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:Potential head coaching candidates for the PackersRODGERS RECORD WATCHAt least the game could be worth watching for the quarterback play. Rodgers’ 61.8 percent completion rate this year is his lowest since 2015 (60.7 percent), though he has thrown just one interception all season. Rodgers has thrown a franchise-record 336 attempts without an interception Youth Austin Hooper Jersey , trailing only New England’s Tom Brady (358 in 2010-11) for longest such stretch in league history.THIRD-QUARTER BLUESOne of the Falcons’ goals for the week is to jump-start their abysmal third-quarter scoring. Atlanta has been outscored 71-34 in third quarters, including 6-0 in last week’s 26-16 loss to Baltimore. The Falcons ran only five plays and held the ball less than two minutes in the quarter. By contrast, the Falcons’ 115 second-quarter points and 107 fourth-quarter points rank among the top five in the league.CALLING PLAYSPhilbin, the former Dolphins head coach in his second stint as a Packers assistant, has extensive experience coaching and putting together offensive game plans. But the previous time that Philbin called plays was when he was a college assistant at Northeastern in 1995-96. He’ll assume those duties again on Sunday since McCarthy was the play-caller in Green Bay. Of course, the Packers also have a veteran at quarterback in Rodgers who is often at his best out of the pocket when a play breaks down.WELCOME BACKThe Falcons have lost eight players to injured reserve this season, including long snapper Josh Harris this week. They finally had a key starter return from IR last week when linebacker Deion Jones set a career high with 15 tackles and a sack against the Ravens. Jones missed 10 games after suffering a broken right foot in the opener against Philadelphia. Jones’ 15 tackles were the most by a Falcons player this season.RUN TIMEThe Falcons have the NFL’s worst rushing attack, averaging just 79 yards a game. They were held to 34 on the ground last week against Baltimore , a week after a season-low 26 against the Saints.“When we’re at our best, we’re running the football and we’re able to create play-action passes,” quarterback Matt Ryan said.This might be the week they get things going. Green Bay allowed a season-high 182 yards on the ground to the Cardinals last week, who have the league’s second-worst rushing offense.7<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:Upon Further Review: Packers vs. CardinalsAP | Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.—ATLANTA (4-8) at GREEN BAY (4-7-1)SUNDAY, 1 p.m. ET, FoxOPENING LINE — Packers by 6 1/2RECORD VS. SPREAD — Atlanta 3-9, Green Bay 4-7-1SERIES RECORD — Packers lead 17-16LAST MEETING — Falcons beat Packers 34-23, Sept. 17, 2017LAST WEEK — Falcons lost to Ravens 26-16; Packers lost to Cardinals 20-17AP PRO32 RANKING — Falcons No. 23, Packers No. 21FALCONS OFFENSE — OVERALL (10), RUSH (32), PASS (5)FALCONS DEFENSE — OVERALL (26) Stitched Deion Jones Jersey , RUSH (27), PASS (25)PACKERS OFFENSE — OVERALL (8), RUSH (21), PASS (6)PACKERS DEFENSE — OVERALL (13), RUSH (25), PASS (6)STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES —Meeting between now struggling participants of NFC title game in 2016 season won by Falcons. … Atlanta has won three straight in series. … Previous meeting was in Atlanta for Falcons’ first win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. … QB Matt Ryan third in NFL with 3,814 yards passing. Ryan has 124.9 rating with 12 TDs and one INT in last four against Packers, including playoffs. … RB Ito Smith second among NFC rookies with four rushing TDs. … WR Julio Jones leads NFL with 1,323 yards receiving. … LB Deion Jones had career-high 15 tackles and sack last week, returning after missing 10 games due to injury. … Defense 31st in NFL against third downs (51 percent). … Packers led by interim head coach Joe Philbin for first time following firing of Mike McCarthy. … Also offensive coordinator, Philbin calling plays for first time in 16 NFL seasons. … QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown franchise record 336 attempts without INT, trailing only Patriots QB Tom Brady (358 in 2010-11) for longest such stretch in league history. … Offense 26th in league in third-down situations (35.6 percent) … RB Aaron Jones second in NFL with 5.73 yards per carry average. Jones’ six TDs since Week 10 tied with Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey for most in league in that span. … WR Davante Adams tied for second in NFL with 11 TD catches. … LB Blake Martinez has NFC-high 106 tackles. … Fantasy tip: TE Jimmy Graham coming off game with season-high eight catches for 50 yards. Graham also had 11 targets against Cardinals, tying season high.Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Wednesday, Aug. 29 In case you missed it, the Falcoholinks is your standard link roundup to cover all the important Atlanta Falcons news. It will help us catch a few stories that we didn’t write up on the site, and double back on things you might have missed. Starters won’t play in week 4The team is expected to rest all of their starters against the Miami Dolphins. Bold move considering most of the starters took it pretty easy against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Here’s what Falcoholic night manager had to say about the decision.I have to agree. The preseason is really just to knock off the rust and get timing down for the starters, while everyone else fights for a roster spot. The starters are set, so why risk injury when they can be watching film on the Philadelphia Eagles?Carson Wentz not ready for Falcons?Speaking of Eagles and injuries, Carson Wentz is not looking likely for week one.Nick Foles has predictably returned to being Nick Foles this preseason Youth Deion Jones Jersey , so this could be big news if touchdown machine Wentz doesn’t suit up. The Falcons will certainly be preparing for either quarterback, but I wouldn’t bet on the Eagles trotting out Wentz if he’s not ready. Seriously, you can win the NFC East this year with like 8 wins. That division is so bad they might as well be in the AFC. We will cover this when we get closer to game time, as Doug Pederson will probably try to keep the starter quiet until game day.Alshon Jeffery improving?In case you were wondering why Alshon Jeffery was available so deep in your fantasy draft, it’s because he is injured. I’m guessing a shoulder injury. Maybe his ankle. There’s no real way to know. Doug Pederson said he’s improving, but it sounds unlikely he will be ready to step into the starting lineup against the Falcons.I don’t expect him there, but Pederson wants us to think it is at least possible.Update: Jeffery is not expected to play in the first two weeks of the season. Brandon Fusco to startThe Falcons made it official: Brandon Fusco won the starting right guard spot over Wes Schweitzer. The competition was closer than we wanted, which was worrisome as Schweitzer showed WAY too much inconsistency. He could be really good, but I’m not willing to bet the 2018 season on it. Fusco made some great plays during preseason, too. I definitely consider this a good upgrade to the offensive line and hopefully the passing game.Andy Levitre back, Deion Jones still outWe don’t expect any injuries to last into week one, but we are watching practice.Andy Levtire was out earlier this week, but good news is he was barely out. Deion Jones has missed two preseason games for the very unspecific “strain” injury. He should be back and still has plenty of time, but it’s notable that he is still not practicing.Also concerning is Duke Riley’s biggest competition missing practice. It may mean Riley wins the starting spot just thanks to staying healthy.Cuts are comingThe Falcons will cut down the roster dramatically after the Dolphins game. In fact, cuts are due Saturday at 4pm. These usually roll in, as anyone who isn’t Homer Simpson can’t cut 37 players at one time. Here’s our latest 53 man roster projection and practice squad! The projected practice squad has big names like Ryan Neal, Kurt Benkert, Malik Williams, and Reggie Davis.
